A Fond Farewell to Dave Evans September 21, 2014
Posted by Christina Engelbart in Historic, Human Interest.Tags: alumni, tributes
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One remarkable quality of Doug Engelbart’s legacy is the enduring alumni community that emerged from his lab, the Augmentation Research Center at SRI.
We are sad to report that one of our own, Dave Evans pictured at right in a 1968 archive photo, has passed away on Friday, September 19, 2014, following a stroke.
As a graduate student at Stanford in 1965, he met Doug Engelbart by chance at a Seminar, got hooked on bootstrapping, and began to visit and then to work with Doug and his team at SRI in the period 1966 to 1969.
Watch archive film footage from 1969 featuring Dave Evans demoing with Doug Engelbart. Dave served a valuable role at AHIRC/ARC was as a sounding-board for ideas and as a facilitator in management and community initiatives. See more on Dave’s career and accomplishments.
In April 2013, Dave was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia by the Governor General for “significant service to science and innovation through commercialising and developing new technologies.” See press article “An innovative career” for details, and photos of the Investiture Ceremony below.
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A Message from his Family
This note is to let you know that David died last night (19 September 2014) just before midnight. His children and Elizabeth have been with him this week. He looked very peaceful this morning.
We are planning to hold a service and a celebration of his life on:
Tuesday 30 September 2014
1:30pm onwards
St Stephens Presbyterian Church on Morriset Street, Queanbeyan NSW.
David grew up in Queanbeyan and over the last couple of years he would take us there occasionally (his ability to issue directions was uncanny). He would take us to a series of places that were important to him in his childhood and young adult-hood – it was always an enjoyable way to pass an afternoon. Dad was not a religious man, but we think it is fitting that the service will be at St Stephens as the church has a long family history.
David has enjoyed the last few years in Canberra. He settled well into his new home and made friends with all and sundry despite his difficulty in communicating. That special sparkle that he had in his eye and his smile made him a favourite among staff and residents at Kangara Waters. He enjoyed receiving visitors and the notes and cards and emails that would steadily arrive from many of you. I hope some of you will consider making the trip to Canberra (and Queanbeyan) to celebrate his life with us.
Fond regards
Joey and Lindy
Announcing summer MOOC and Engelbart Scholar Award at VCU April 25, 2014
Posted by Christina Engelbart in Uncategorized.2 comments
![]() Gardner Campbell and Christina Engelbart at VCU |
Just returning this week from a wonderful visit with Gardner Campbell and company at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in Richmond, VA, to announce the establishment of an Engelbart Scholar Award at VCU in conjunction with an exciting new Focused Inquiry MOOC on Research Writing (VCU UNIV200). The MOOC is the brainchild of Dr. Gardner Campbell, Vice Provost for Learning Innovation and Student Success, and Associate Professor of English.
MOOC participants will learn about how the Internet affords a new medium for collaborative research and research writing through studying the visionary research of pioneers of the Information Age, including including Doug Engelbart, Ted Nelson, Alan Kay, and others, and will be simultaneously prototyping an open collaborative knowledge environment, including tools inspired by said research visionaries, in which to conduct and capture their work.
Follow #ThoughtVectors and @ThoughtVectors
on Twitter to watch it all unfold -
see www.thoughtvectors.net for details
The Engelbart Scholar Award will be presented to a qualified VCU student enrolled in the MOOC to include registration in the course and an opportunity of an Internship with the Doug Engelbart Institute.
![]() Session with MOOC team |
I am so thrilled and honored to be participating with the extended design team for the MOOC, and proud to be offering the Engelbart Scholar Award in conjunction with the course. Looking forward to presenting the Award to one lucky undergrad, and participating in the MOOC this summer.
See photo album on Doug Engelbart Institute Facebook page http://on.fb.me/1nQ4Ygb
UPDATE
The course launched June 10th, and the two winners of the Engelbart Scholar Award were announced — Congratulations to Anisa Kannen and Will Sullivan, our very first Engelbart Scholar Award recipients. Exciting times ahead!
A week later Gardner and team presented their pilot project MOOC at the New Media Consortium Summer Conference in June 2014, joined remotely by Christina Engelbart and Will Sullivan, one of our first Engelbart Scholar Award winners. Watch their joint presentation at NMC2014.
See also press coverage
VCU ventures into online educational phenomenon,
Richmond Times-Dispatch
October 2, 2014
Doug Engelbart inducted to Internet Hall of Fame April 10, 2014
Posted by Christina Engelbart in Historic, Tributes.Tags: #ihof2014, Internet Society, tributes
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Celebrating the visionaries and innovators who were
instrumental in shaping today’s Internet and expanding its global connectivity
Hong Kong — April 8, 2014 — The late Doug Engelbart now joins the elite ranks of notable individuals who have been inducted into the Internet Hall of Fame for their significant contributions to the advancement of the global Internet. Today the Internet Hall of Fame recognizes Engelbart posthumously for his seminal contributions to personal and collaborative computing, and participation in the early formation of the ARPAnet, precursor to the Internet.
Doug Engelbart has been named a Pioneer of the Internet, a category which recognizes and celebrates individuals who were instrumental in the early design and development of the Internet.
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In the early 1960s, Dr. Engelbart founded the Augmentation Research Center lab at SRI in Menlo Park, Calif., where he and his team pioneered a system for “augmenting human intellect,” envisioning workers sitting at display workstations could collaborate on solutions to humanity’s problems through a vast online information space. He was the primary force behind the NLS system, which featured document sharing, hyperlinking, teleconferencing, digital libraries, and more, with novel human-computer interface elements such as precursors to the graphical user interface and the computer mouse. In 1968 he and his team staged the first public demonstration of their work, now famously known as the “Mother of All Demos.” Engelbart’s lab made Internet history in 1969 as the second host on the ARPAnet, sending and receiving the first transmissions on a distributed network, and by conceiving the first Network Information Center (NIC) to support the emerging ARPAnet community online.
In his 1970 paper on the implications of networking, Engelbart foretold the emergence of a new “marketplace” representing “fantastic wealth in commodities of knowledge, service, information, processing, and storage,” with “a vitality and dynamism much greater than today’s, as today’s is different from the village market.” In his 1995 publication “Boosting Our Collective IQ,” he outlined what he saw to be the baseline requirements for information technology to reach its potential, outlining his template for a ubiquitous open hyperdocument system (OHS).
“The 2014 Internet Hall of Fame inductees include extraordinary individuals who have helped shape the global Internet,” noted Internet Society CEO Kathy Brown. “This historic assembly of Internet trailblazers, innovators, and thought-leaders represent many different countries and backgrounds, each with an inspiring story to share. We applaud their achievements and determination to push the boundaries of technological and social innovation to connect the world.”
“My father was a true visionary.” recounts daughter and longtime business partner Christina Engelbart, who was invited to accept the award on his behalf. “With all the amazing advancements in internet and information technology to date, we have still only scratched the surface of the true potential he envisioned for humanity. He left us with quite a legacy to fulfill.”
Engelbart was honored at the Internet Society’s 2014 Induction Ceremony on April 8 in Hong Kong. Watch the Internet Hall of Fame induction ceremony online. More details on the 2014 Internet Hall of Fame inductees, including their biographies and photos, can be found at http://www.internethalloffame.org. You can follow the Internet Hall of Fame on Facebook and on Twitter at @Internet_HOF (#ihof2014).
About Doug Engelbart
Dr. Douglas C. Engelbart (www.dougengelbart.org) earned an unparalleled track record in predicting, designing, and implementing the future of interactive, collaborative and organizational computing. From his early vision of turning organizations into highly evolved “augmented knowledge workshops,” he went on to pioneer what is now known as interactive computing, collaborative hypermedia, knowledge management, community networking, and organizational transformation, with integrated prototypes in full operational use under the NLS system as early as 1968. After 20 years directing the Augmentation Research Center (ARC) at SRI International, and a decade in industry first at Tymshare, and then at McDonnell Douglas Corporation, Engelbart founded what is now the Doug Engelbart Institute with his daughter Christina Engelbart, working closely with industry and government stakeholders on collaborative implementations of his strategic vision. For outstanding lifetime achievement and ingenuity, Engelbart received the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, the ACM Turing Award, and the IEEE John Von Neumann Medal. His life’s work, with his “big-picture” vision and persistent pioneering breakthroughs, has made a significant impact on the past, present, and future of personal, interpersonal, and organizational computing.
About the Internet Hall of Fame
The Internet Hall of Fame (www.internethalloffame.org) is a recognition program and virtual museum that celebrates the living history of the Internet and the individuals whose extraordinary contributions have made the Internet, its worldwide availability and use, and its transformative nature possible. The Internet Hall of Fame was launched by the Internet Society in 2012.
About the Internet Society
The Internet Society (www.internetsociety.org) is the trusted independent source for Internet information and thought leadership from around the world. With its principled vision and substantial technological foundation, the Internet Society promotes open dialogue on Internet policy, technology, and future development among users, companies, governments, and other organizations. Working with its members and Chapters around the world, the Internet Society enables the continued evolution and growth of the Internet for everyone.
Celebrating Doug Engelbart and the 45th Anniversary of the Mother of All Demos December 10, 2013
Posted by Christina Engelbart in Historic, Human Interest.1 comment so far
December 9th, 2013 marked the 45th anniversary of the Mother of All Demos with a wonderful memorial celebration of Doug Engelbart, a new tribute site honoring Doug Engelbart, more tributes, and numerous articles.
Main Event

Technology Legend:
Honoring Douglas Engelbart
Computer History Museum, December 9th, 2013
With SRI International and Logitech, Inc. See photos from the event. Watch the entire program here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNCCkhADpiw
“We at the Doug Engelbart Institute wish to extend
our deepest heartfelt gratitude to the Computer History Museum, SRI International, and Logitech Inc. for an incredibly moving, rousing
and fitting memorial celebration.”
– Christina Engelbart, Executive Director and Daughter.
Tributes
Tribute to Doug Engelbart Website
New tribute site honoring Doug Engelbart – share how you were touched, browse photo gallery, tribute videos, and more.
The Computer Mouse: Enabling Personal Computing
A wonderful video short from SRI International
See the System Behind Engelbart’s Historic Mother of All Demos,
By Brad Neuberg, lead developer in the HyperScope project
Press
An Homage to Douglas Engelbart and a Critique of the State of Tech
By John Markoff, NY Times, December 16, 2013
Computer History Museum Honors Technology Legend Douglas Engelbart
IT Business Net, Dec 9, 2013
Computer History Museum Honors Technology Legend Douglas Engelbart
Globe News Wire, Dec 9, 2013
Doug Engelbart Lives On – A Celebration of His Life and Unfinished Work
Tom Foremski, Silicon Valley Watcher, December 12, 2013
In Pictures: The Mother of All Demos – The 1968 presentation that sparked a tech revolution
CIO Magazine, Dec 9, 2013
The Mother of All Demos’ Is 45 Years Old, Doesn’t Look a Day Over 25
The Atlantic, Dec 9, 2013
45 Years Ago, We Saw The Mouse For The First Time
Huffington Post, Dec 9, 2013
Tech Time Warp of the Week: The Mother of All Demos, 1968
Wired, Dec 13, 2013
Mother of All Demos
To learn more about the demo or watch footage of the demo, visit Doug’s 1968 Demo at the Doug Engelbart Institute.
Re: “What ever happened to Augmenting Human Intellect” November 30, 2013
Posted by Christina Engelbart in Collective IQ, Technology.add a comment
Here is a must-see webinar from O’Reilly Webcast:
Whatever Happened to “Augmenting Human Intellect”?
Presented by Scott Murray November 20 2013
Exploring the fundamental role of data visualization in a palatable form to human perception
http://oreillynet.com/pub/e/2913
Vote for the Mouse in first-ever Tech Tournament October 21, 2013
Posted by Christina Engelbart in Historic.Tags: historic firsts, mouse, Tribute
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Here’s your chance to cast your vote for, say, the Mouse, in the first ever Tech Tournament, “where innovation’s elite compete in a bracket-style competition to determine the most meaningful technological advancement from the past three-quarters of a century.”
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See this fabulous video short The Computer Mouse: Enabling Personal Computing. Then visit the Mouse entry at the tournament site, where you can cast your vote in three quick steps: (1) register, (2) sign in, and (3) click “Vote for this entry”.
Watch the video to see how the Mouse “put the power of computing in everyone’s hands”
This is just one of many great ways to celebrate the 45th Anniversary of Doug Engelbart’s 1968 “Mother of All Demos” coming up this December 9th. For more background on these seminal innovations, and other ways to celebrate, visit the Doug Engelbart Institute.
To browse other tournament entries, visit http://bit.ly/18CItCV – if you don’t see the Mouse entry, try Sort by Date or Summary.
This tournament is sponsored by the International Research Institute (IRI). The Mouse entry video was submitted by member SRI International, formerly Stanford Research Institute, where Doug Engelbart invented the Mouse, and more recently where SIRI was born before spinning off into startup.
Voting ends November 15th.
The human side of Doug Engelbart July 6, 2013
Posted by Christina Engelbart in Human Interest.Tags: Doug, tributes
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![]() Doug as a young boy (left) with his kid brother (right) See Photos from Childhood |
So much has been written about his professional vision and accomplishments, here are some snippets about his human side.
“He’s right up there in that category of probably the top 10 people, ever, in Silicon Valley, not only for the work they did, but how they touched people.”
— Curt Carlson, President & CEO, SRI International, where Doug did the bulk of his seminal research [source]
“He wanted to help people solve problems, and he saw the world as having very significant problems. That is not something you can get a patent on, start a company or make a fortune on. Bill Gates’ vision was a computer on every desk running Microsoft software. Doug had a much larger humanitarian vision.”
— Howard Rheingold, in “Tools for Thought” [source]
“Doug’s ideas were not really about technology, per se. Rather, his goal was to improve collaboration and the way people work together to solve the toughest, most important societal problems.”
— Curt Carlson’s Reflections on Doug Engelbart [source]
“Engelbart was big on the people part of the equation. He clearly saw the heartbeat behind the ones and zeros of the digital age. He believed that computers, which were primarily for crunching numbers and spitting out answers when he started his work, had the ability to empower people and enhance their intellect in ways that would improve their lives.”
— Mike Cassidy, Mercury News siliconvalley.com [source]
“He saw the computer as a power tool for boosting both individual and organizational IQ. Doug had this vision that computers could augment human intelligence and he set about creating a system that would do that.”
— Andy van Dam, Brown University [source]
“Doug’s vision was to create a new home for the human mind, to turn digital technology into powerful tools that would help us meet the ever greater challenges on this planet.”
— Paul Saffo, Futurist, Consulting Professor at Stanford University [source]
“Doug Engelbart’s legacy is much more than “the mouse.” He designed and refined a new organizational nervous system for the 21st century.”
— Patricia Seybold, Outside Innovation [source]
“Doug thought at scale. He understood that a car is not simply a faster tricycle. He had faith that an augmented intellect, joined to millions of other augmented intellects, could [empower] vast new modes of thinking [that] could grasp intricately meaningful symbols as quickly and comprehensively as we can recognize a loved one’s face. For Doug, computers [were] the tools we have invented in our quest for a new language.”
— Gardner Campbell, Vice Provost for Learning Innovation, Virginia Commonwealth Univ. [source]
“It’s as if they found the person who invented writing, and credited them for inventing the pencil,” says Bret Victor re: tech writer interviews of Engelbart. “The least important question you can ask about Engelbart is, “What did he build?” [...] The most important question you can ask about Engelbart is, “What world was he trying to create?””
— Bret Victor [source]
From writings on the Doug Engelbart Institute site
See Just for Kids – Excerpt: “As far as being a grandpa, he would always make up stories about a really intelligent, really little, magical dog named Fifi who can make himself really tiny or even invisible and fly around in a miniature spaceship and cause mischief. He especially likes the mischief part.” Read more…
See also How Doug Engelbart taught kids to ride a bike (without training wheels) – “Doug’s inquisitive nature, adventurous attitude, compassion, and patience were a key part of his success with this method — one of his lesser known but highly endearing innovations…” Read more…
From A Lifetime Pursuit – “He and his wife of 47 years, Ballard [...] were avid folk dancers for many years with a very special group of friends of all ages. Through the years Doug also enjoyed exercising, hiking, camping, sailing, reading, bike riding (although he appeased his wife long ago by giving up trick riding), organic gardening, raising ducks, earthworms, and bees, reading mysteries, making up science fiction fantasy stories for children, giving science lectures to his wife Ballard when she had trouble sleeping, and any excuse for a family gathering.” Read more…
From tributes posted by friends and colleagues
“Very sorry to hear about Doug’s passing. He was one of the nicest, best intentioned people I’ve ever known. The world is a dimmer place without him, but a much brighter place for his having been here.”
“We still remember the folk dancing parties that Doug and Ballard put on at your house in Atherton.”
“Your father has been a presence in my life since the day I met him, about 1966. A wonderful man, a formative influence on so many people, and yes, a genius. We won’t see his like again, and I am very proud to have worked for him.”
“such a gentle, beautiful man.”
“He was a truly great man, and I learned SO much from him.”
“He was an extraordinary man.”
“He was a wonderful father, as well as amazing visionary.”
“He was an amazing person and I have fond memories of him around your home, camping, helping with science projects.”
“One thing I especially liked about your dad was how gentle and kind he was. He seemed to truly love people. I’m honored to have worked with him.”
“He was such a light, a kind warmhearted person. Getting to work with both of you a few years ago taught me so many things and made me a better person.”
“Doug and his dreams where so much a part on so many of us. I am so lucky to have been in part of them.”
“A thankful world stands in awe of his inventiveness, intelligence, generosity and humility.”
Press tributes to Doug Engelbart on his passing July 4, 2013
Posted by Christina Engelbart in Human Interest.Tags: Doug, tributes
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So many wonderful articles, photos and tributes are appearing to mark the passing of Doug Engelbart, a great legend and wonderful man, on Tuesday, July 2, 2013. We will be posting some of the highlights here. For tributes from friends, colleagues, and the public, or to post your own, please see the Doug Engelbart Institute Facebook page. For more information about him and his life’s work, past, present and future, see the Doug Engelbart Institute website.
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Doug Engelbart circa 1998 [Getty]
| Contents [top] |
SRI Alumnus and World-Renowned Computing Pioneer Douglas Engelbart Passed Away July 2, SRI International Press Release
Computer Visionary Who Invented the Mouse, by John Markoff, NY Times
Douglas Engelbart, 88; changed computers with his mouse, by John Markoff, NY Times
Broadcast News
Inventor Of Computer Mouse Dies; Doug Engelbart Was 88 , NPR
Douglas Engelbart, Father of the Computer Mouse, Dies at Age 88, ABC News
Computer mouse inventor Doug Engelbart dies at 88, BBC News
Computer mouse inventor Douglas Engelbart dead at 88, CBS News
Computer mouse inventor Douglas Engelbart dies, CNN News
Mouse inventor and computing pioneer Douglas Engelbart dies at 88, NBC News
“Print” Monthlies
The Hut Where the Internet Began, The Atlantic Monthly
Remembering Doug Engelbart, PC Magazine
“Print” Dailies
Douglas Engelbart, computer visionary and inventor of the mouse, dies at 88, Washington Post
Doug Engelbart, inventor of computer mouse, dies at 88, The Guardian
Doug Engelbart Dead: Inventor Of The Computer Mouse Dies At 88, Huffington Post
Engelbart, inventor of computer mouse, dies at 88, By Michael Liedtke, AP, San Francisco Chronicle
Douglas Engelbart, tech genius and inventor of the mouse, dies at 88, By Mike Cassidy, Mercury News
Douglas Engelbart dies at age 88; computer visionary, LA Times
Stanford researcher Doug Engelbart, inventor of the computer mouse, dies, by Brooke Donald, Stanford University
Douglas Engelbart, Computer Mouse Creator, Visionary, Dies at 88, by Laurence Arnold, Bloomberg Newsroom
Blogs
Reflections on Douglas Engelbart and His Influence on SRI Today, by Curt Carlson, President & CEO SRI International, author Five Disciplines of Innovation
Remembering Doug Engelbart, by Bracken Darrell, Logitech President & CEO
Learning from Revolutionaries: Doug Engelbart & John Seybold, by Patricia Seybold, Outside Innovation: “Doug’s life work isn’t over. We still need to implement much of his vision…”
Douglas Engelbart’s Unfinished Revolution, by Howard Rheingold for MIT Technology Review, author Tools for Thought
Doug Engelbart and the vision thing: Is Silicon Valley suffering from a failure of imagination? by Mathew Ingram, GigaOM
Remembering Doug Engelbart, TED – Ideas Worth Spreading
Last week a Great Man, Doug Engelbart, passed away, by Kevin Hughes
People we’ve lost in 2013, CNN (listed under Icons)
Computing legend Douglas Engelbart dies at 88, by Edward Moyer C|NET
A few words on Doug Engelbart, by Bret Victor
Inventing the Mouse April 12, 2013
Posted by Christina Engelbart in Archives, Historic.Tags: Doug, historic firsts, mouse, tributes
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Watch Doug tell the story (2004)[courtesy Logitech, Inc.] |
The first mouse –click to see photo gallery [courtesy SRI International and Stanford University MouseSite] |
“Father of the Mouse”
Doug Engelbart invented the computer mouse in the early 1960s in his research lab at Stanford Research Institute (now SRI International). The first prototype was built in 1964, the patent application for this “X-Y position indicator for a display system” was filed in 1967, and US Patent 3,541,541 was awarded in 1970. Although many impressive innovations for interacting with computers have followed in the last 50 years since its invention, the mouse remains to this day the most efficient hands on pointing device available.
The First Mouse
The basic idea for the mouse first came to him in the early 1960s while sitting in a conference session on computer graphics, his mind mulling over the challenge of making interactive computing more efficient. It occurred to him in that moment that, using a pair of small wheels traversing a tabletop, one wheel turning horizontally, one turning vertically, the computer could track their combined rotations and move the cursor on the display accordingly. The wheels could function something like the wheels on a planimeter – a tool used by engineers and geographers to measure areas on a map, blueprint, drawing, etc. – but in this case, rolling the wheels around on the tabletop would plot the x,y coordinates for a cursor on a computer screen. He recorded the idea in his notebook for future reference.
A little over a year later, Engelbart was awarded a long-awaited grant at SRI to launch his dream research initiative titled “Augmenting Human Intellect,” for which he envisioned intellectual workers sitting at high-performance interactive display workstations to access a vast online information space in which to collaborate on important challenges. He hired a small research team, and began setting up a basic lab with computer and teletypes, followed by a display terminal.
By now there were several off-the-shelf solutions for moving the cursor and selecting something on a display screen, but no good data about which would be most efficient to meet Engelbart’s “high-performance” requirement. He applied for and was awarded a small grant from NASA to explore that question.
Engelbart and his research staff rounded up best of breed pointing devices, and also rigged up some in-house prototypes to experiment with, such as a foot pedal and a knee-operated device. Engelbart also dug up his earlier notes which he reviewed with his lead engineer Bill English, who built a prototype of the hand-held device with perpendicular wheels mounted in a carved out wooden block, with a button on top, to test with the others. This was the first computer mouse (pictured above and below).
The Mouse Wins
In 1965 Engelbart’s team published their final report evaluating the efficiency of the various screen-selection techniques. They had pitted the mouse against a handful of other devices, some off the shelf, some of their own making (see Mouse Alternatives below). The mouse won hands down, and was thus included as standard equipment in their research moving forward (see Screen-Selection Experiments below for links to key reports and papers detailing these experiments). In 1967, SRI filed for the patent on the mouse, technically termed the “x,y position indicator,” and the patent was awarded in 1970.
The first mouse plugged into it’s display workstation– circa 1964 (click to enlarge) |
![]() 1968 version includes three-button mouse and five-key keyset(click to enlarge) |
Enter, the Keyset: In the meantime, to further increase efficiency, Engelbart’s team thought to offer a companion to the mouse – a device for the left hand to enter commands or text while the right hand was busy pointing and clicking (shown above). After trying out several variations, they settled on a telegraph-style “keyset” with five keys akin to piano keys, which also became standard equipment in the lab (pictured below). Both devices were introduced to the public in Engelbart’s 1968 demonstration, now known as the “Mother of All Demos” (see Check It Out below for links to selected video footage of the debut, historic photos, and more).
In Doug’s Words:
“The mouse we built for the [1968] show was an early prototype that had three buttons. We turned it around so the tail came out the top. We started with it going the other direction, but the cord got tangled when you moved your arm. I first started making notes for the mouse in ’61. At the time, the popular device for pointing on the screen was a light pen, which had come out of the radar program during the war. It was the standard way to navigate, but I didn’t think it was quite right.
Two or three years later, we tested all the pointing gadgets available to see which was the best. Aside from the light pen there was the tracking ball and a slider on a pivot. I also wanted to try this mouse idea, so Bill English went off and built it.
We set up our experiments and the mouse won in every category, even though it had never been used before. It was faster, and with it people made fewer mistakes. Five or six of us were involved in these tests, but no one can remember who started calling it a mouse. I’m surprised the name stuck.
We also did a lot of experiments to see how many buttons the mouse should have. We tried as many as five. We settled on three. That’s all we could fit. Now the three-button mouse has become standard, except for the Mac.”
– Source: The Click Heard Round The World, by Ken Jordan, WIRED 2004.
Check It Out
Watch the world debut of the mouse (1968) |
Watch Doug telling the story of how he invented the mouse in Logitech‘s 2004 interview.
Witness the 1968 debut of the mouse and keyset, and watch the mouse and keyset in action in Doug’s 1968 “Mother of All Demos (see SRI’s 1968 Demo Highlights for more); take a minute to explore the Stanford University MouseSite where you will find images of the first mouse, the US Patent on the Mouse, historic photos from the lab, and much more.
Visit the online Mouse Exhibit |
See also SRI’s timeline on personal computing and the mouse, Macworld’s mouse history timeline, PC Advisor’s 40th anniversary timeline, and our History in Pix photo gallery.
Check out the Computer History Museum‘s online Exhibit on the Mouse and Keyset, as well as press coverage of their 2001 event “Early Computer Mouse Encounters“.
Debunking the “Xerox PARC created the mouse” Myth
The mouse later migrated from Doug’s lab at SRI to Xerox PARC, and then to Apple and others. One of the most common myths about the mouse is the mistaken belief that it was invented at Xerox PARC. Note that the patent for the mouse was filed in 1967, by which time production models were in operational use throughout Doug’s lab, three years before Xerox PARC was established in 1970.
Mouse Alternatives
Engelbart and his team tested a half dozen pointing devices for speed and accuracy. These included the mouse plus a knee apparatus (pictured here on the left), both created in-house, along with several off the shelf devices such as DEC’s Grafacon (pictured here on the right, modified for testing purposes), a joy stick, and light pen. See Screen-Selection Experiments below for links to more details and photos. They also experimented with a foot pedal device as well as a helmet mounted device, neither of which made made it into the final tests.
| From Doug Engelbart’s experiments with pointing devices (mid 1960s) |
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![]() A knee-operated pointing device |
![]() DEC’s hand-operated gyro-stlye “Grafacon” |
A small piece of a large vision
In the 1950s, Doug Engelbart set his sights on a lofty goal — to develop dramatically better ways to support intellectual workers around the globe in the daunting task of finding solutions to larger and larger problems with greater speed and effectiveness than ever before imagined. His goal was to revolutionize the way we work together on such tasks. He saw computers, at the time used only for number crunching, as a new medium for advancing the state of the art in collaborative knowledge work. Building on technology available at the time, his research agenda required that his team push the envelope on all fronts: they had to expand the boundaries of display technology and interactive computing and human-computer interface, help launch network computing, and invent hypermedia, groupware, knowledge management, digital libraries, computer supported software engineering, client-server architecture, the mouse, etc. on the technical front, as well as pushing the frontiers in process reengineering and continuous improvement, including inventing entirely new organizational concepts and methodologies on the human front. Engelbart even invented his own innovation strategy for accelerating the rate and scale of innovation in his lab which, by the way, proved very effective. His seminal work garnered many awards, and sparked a revolution that blossomed into the Information Age and the Internet. But as yet we have only scratched the surface of the true potential Engelbart envisioned for dramatically boosting our collective IQ in the service of humankind’s greatest challenges.
See Also
On the Internet
- MouseSite – the definitive website on the Mouse hosted by Stanford University, especially their Photos of the First Mouse page. They also curate video of the 1968 demo and other significant archives from Doug Engelbart’s work.
- See the SRI Timeline on Innovation page Personal Computing + the Mouse, the SRI press release Engelbart and the Dawn of Interactive Computing (excellent overview), as well as our event resources page for Engelbart and the Dawn of Interactive Computing
- Visit the online exhibit on The Mouse at the Computer History Museum or visit their museum in Mt. View, CA; check out their Early Computer Mouse Encounters event at the Computer History Museum, Oct 17, 2001
- See the Mouse Timeline in The computer mouse turns 40 – a great article by Benj Edwards, Macworld, Dec 9, 2008
on the history of the Mouse. - Visit Logitech’s Billionth Mouse site – see the genesis of the mouse.
- Planimeter: Planimeters are often used by surveyors, foresters, geologists, geographers, engineers, and architects to measure areas on maps of any kind and scale, as well as plans, blueprints, or any scale drawing or plan. (source: Ben Meadows). See How Planimeters Are Used for some great visuals (thanks to Dr. Robert Foote at Wabash College), and this photo of geographers using planimeter for the 1940 census (thanks to the National Archives). See also Wikipedia’s more complete Planimeter article with links to other resources.
From Doug’s Lab
- Screen-Selection Experiments: Display-Selection Techniques for Text Manipulation, William K. English, Douglas C. Engelbart and Melvyn L. Berman, March 1967. This paper describes an experimental study into the relative merits of different CRT display-selection devices as used within a real-time, computer-display, text-manipulation system in use at Stanford Research Institute. The mouse was tested against other devices and found to be the most accurate and efficient. See also the 1965 Report and the 1966 Quarterly Report detailing their screen-selection experiments.
- “The Mother of All Demos” (90 min Video/Film) Doug’s 1968 debut of the NLS system for online work including hypermedia, the mouse, online collaboration, interactive computing, human computer interface, and overarching guiding principles for the research. See especially Clip 12 where Doug, sitting in San Francisco, brings in a coworker sitting in his lab in Menlo Park, to demonstrate the mouse, and Clip 13 where Doug introduces the keyset. See also our comprehensive portal page to the 1968 Demo for the basic story and links to demo highlights, archive photos and footage, background, articles, and more.
- Augmenting Human Intellect: A Conceptual Framework, Douglas C. Engelbart. 1962. See for example how he envisioned an architect might work interactively with a computer in 1962 in the Introduction’s summary of Section IV (quoted at right).
- Doug Engelbart – A Lifetime Pursuit, a short biographical sketch by Christina Engelbart describes the larger context of this early work.
















The first mouse –




