The Mundaneum: An Early 20th-Century 'Internet' Built on Index Cards

The Mundaneum, an innovative initiative launched by Belgian attorneys Paul Otlet and Henri La Fontaine, sought to compile and categorize all human knowledge, serving as an analog forerunner to the internet. Beginning in 1895, Otlet modified the Dewey Decimal System to establish an extensive paper archive in Brussels, which contained bibliographic information on books, articles, and images across more than 15 million index cards. Initially located in the Cinquantenaire Palace, it was meant to feature a building designed by Le Corbusier by the late 1920s, a plan that ultimately did not materialize. Following the Nazi invasion in 1940, the Mundaneum was disassembled for a Third Reich art exhibit. Otlet envisioned a worldwide network of 'electric telescopes'—early workstations connected via telephone and television—allowing users to access the archive and receive information on personal screens, foreshadowing data sharing and social connectivity. Today, the Mundaneum museum in Mons, Belgium, maintains this legacy, welcoming visitors five days a week and offering an online catalog. The project is frequently recognized as an early concept of the internet, showcasing humanity's persistent desire to centralize and access knowledge.