FOTW Developmental Timeline

Last modified: 2025-10-11 by rob raeside
Keywords: fotw | timeline |
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• Summary Timeline of the Development of "Flags of the World"

For more history of FOTW

• Giuseppe Bottasini's thoughts on the origin of FOTW
• Giuseppe Bottasini's thoughts on the origin of FOTW (in Italian)
• The FOTW flag
• FOTW flag proposals
• FOTW Flag Day
• FOTW's application for membership in FIAV
• Vexillologist of the Year
• 20th Anniversary flag
• Vexillologist of the Year
• Meet the Editors and Illustrators
• Memorials

Summary Time Line of the Development of "Flags of the World"

September 1993	Flags of the World was started as an electronic mailing list. The group initially consisted of about a dozen people led by Giuseppe Bottasini, Christopher Vance, and Alessio Bragadini. It went online in September of 1993. It soon expanded to include a regular group of about 100 to 150 addresses. Giuseppe Bottasini became the first List Master.
Late 1994	Giuseppe Bottasini (Italy) became the first FOTW Director. FOTW website was set up by Mark Sensen at digibel.be.
March 1996	The FOTW Flag Day is 8 March, as voted by members to represent the date on which the FOTW flag was formally adopted 8 March 1996
June 1998	Rob Raeside (Canada) became the second FOTW Director
1 August 1998	Mailing list moved to qnet.com, a majordomo list, managed by Edward Mooney.
April 2000	Mailing list moved to eGroups, which was subsequently acquired by YahooGroups.
May 2001	Home website at digibel.be closed, FOTW established as a dispersed series of websites.
August 2001	FOTW became a member of FIAV at the 19th ICV in York, UK.
2003	National flags, ensigns, jacks, etc., systematically redrawn by Željko Heimer based on Album des pavillons nationaux et des marques distinctives [pay00].
1 January 2013	FOTW surpasses 100,000 images on the website.
September 2013	FOTW celebrated its twentieth anniversary.
18 October 2019	Mailing list moved to groups.io.
2024	National flags, ensigns, jacks, etc., systematically redrawn by Zoltan Heimer based on multiple sources, including publications by government sources.
1 November 2024	FOTW surpasses 200,000 images on the website.