https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/07/04/hotmail_at_22/

Hotmail turned 22 today having ushered in an era of web-based email, great swathes of spam and one of the greatest ever security cock-ups.

Launched on 4 July 1996, Hotmail offered "independence" (geddit?) from traditional ISP-based email, which required users download messages into a local reader. Hotmail allowed users to create their own email account and view their messages within the browser, without needing to be tied to a specific provider.