The document provides a history of open access, beginning with the principles of openly sharing ideas and insights. It describes how the internet enabled open access by facilitating information sharing online. Key events that advanced open access as a principle include the 2001 Budapest Open Access Initiative and statements in 2003 supporting open access. Governments and institutions, including the UK and Wellcome Trust, later implemented policies mandating open access to publicly funded research. The document traces the growth of open access publishing and repositories from 1993 to present. It outlines different routes to open access like gold and green and looks at developments in the US, Europe, and future of open access.