History

Markdown was originally created by John Gruber and Aaron Swartz. The intent of the project was to create an easy way for people to write something, then convert it to XHTML or HTML. Markdown has been implemented on many websites, including all the Stack Exchange network sites.

Syntax and examples

Emphasized text

*emphasis* or _emphasis_ (italics)

**strong emphasis** or __strong emphasis__ (bold)

Code

Code can be formatted with backticks (`):

`code goes here`

Or, for multiple lines of code, indenting the code by four spaces:

    multiple
    lines
    of
    code

Lists

* Unordered list (bullet points)
    * Subitem in an unordered list (indented by four spaces)

1. Ordered (numbered) list
2. Another item

Headings

# First level heading
## Second level heading
### Third level heading
#### Fourth level heading
##### Fifth level heading
###### Sixth level heading

For the first two headings, you can also use:

First level
===========
Second level
------------

Blockquotes

>A block quote can be placed with a ">" before it to properly format the quote.

Links

Links can be created by one of two ways:

[link text](URL "Link title") 

Or

[link text][URL]

A full list of the Markdown syntax can be found here. The project's home page can found at Daring Fireball.