Magellan / McKinley Group (Search Engine)
artifactThe Blackmail Network
Before Google, two sisters built a search engine judged by human editors — and sold it for millions in the web's early days.
Who they are
Magellan was an early web search engine built by the Maxwell sisters through their McKinley Group.
What they do
It stood out for using human editors to curate and rate websites instead of relying on an algorithm alone.
How it works
It grew from Christine Maxwell's 1993 'Research on Demand' service, launched in September 1995, acted as a human gatekeeper for what was findable on the early web, and was sold to Excite in June 1996 for about $18 million in stock.
Why it matters
It is an early example of people, not code, deciding what showed up when you searched the web.
The engine's record — word for word
[Report #109 — Maxwell Apparatus] Early web search engine built by the Maxwell sisters via the McKinley Group (grew from Christine's 'Research on Demand', 1993; launched Sept 1995). Distinctive for human editorial curation/ratings over pure algorithm — an arbiter of early web discoverability. Sold to Excite June 1996 (~$18M in stock). [Fact-checked Jun 17 2026.]
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