Java is a high-level, versatile, and object-oriented programming language developed by Sun Microsystems (now owned by Oracle Corporation). It was first released in 1995 and has since become one of the most widely used programming languages in the world. Java is designed to be platform-independent, meaning that Java programs can run on any device that has a Java Virtual Machine (JVM) installed, regardless of the underlying hardware and operating system.

Key features of Java include:

1. Write Once, Run Anywhere (WORA): Java programs can be written on one platform and executed on any other platform with a compatible JVM, promoting cross-platform compatibility.
2. Object-Oriented: Java follows the object-oriented programming (OOP) paradigm, where code is organized into classes and objects, promoting modularity, reusability, and maintainability.
3. Platform Independence: Java code is compiled into an intermediate form called bytecode, which is then executed by the JVM. This allows Java applications to be run on any device that has a JVM, without the need for recompilation.
4. Automatic Memory Management: Java features automatic garbage collection, which helps manage memory by automatically reclaiming memory occupied by objects that are no longer in use.
5. Rich Standard Library: Java comes with a comprehensive standard library that provides a wide range of classes and methods for various tasks, making it easier for developers to perform common operations without having to write everything from scratch.
6. Multithreading: Java supports multithreading, allowing developers to create applications that can perform multiple tasks concurrently, improving performance and responsiveness.
7. Security: Java has built-in security features that help protect systems from malicious code. For example, applets (small Java programs designed to be embedded in web pages) run in a restricted environment to prevent potential security threats.

Java, developed by James Gosling and his team at Sun Microsystems, has a history dating back to the early 1990s. Here's a brief overview of the key milestones in Java's history:

1. Inception (1991-1995): Java's development began in 1991 as a project called "Oak" by James Gosling, Mike Sheridan, and Patrick Naughton at Sun Microsystems. The goal was to create a programming language for embedded systems. In 1995, the language was officially released as Java.
2. Public Debut (1995): Java 1.0 was publicly released in January 1996. It gained attention for its "Write Once, Run Anywhere" (WORA) principle, allowing developers to create platform-independent applications.
3. Applets and Web Revolution (mid-1990s): Java applets, small applications designed to run within web browsers, became popular in the mid-1990s. This contributed to the early growth of interactive and dynamic content on the World Wide Web.
4. Introduction of Java 2 (J2SE 1.2, 1998): Java 2, released in 1998, brought significant enhancements to the language and introduced the Java Naming and Directory Interface (JNDI), the Swing GUI toolkit, and the Collections Framework.
5. Enterprise Java (J2EE, 1999): Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition (J2EE) was introduced in 1999, focusing on enterprise-level applications. It included technologies like Servlets, JSP (JavaServer Pages), and EJB (Enterprise JavaBeans).
6. Acquisition by Oracle (2010): Oracle Corporation acquired Sun Microsystems in 2010, becoming the new steward of the Java platform.
7. Java SE 7 and 8 (2011, 2014): Java SE 7, released in 2011, introduced several language enhancements and the Fork/Join framework for parallel programming. Java SE 8, released in 2014, brought significant changes with the introduction of lambda expressions and the Stream API.
8. Modularization with Java SE 9 (2017): Java SE 9 introduced the Java Platform Module System (JPMS), enabling better modularity in Java applications.
9. Java SE 10 and Beyond (2018-2022): Subsequent releases introduced features like local-variable type inference (var) in Java SE 10, and ongoing releases have continued to bring improvements and new features to the language.