With over a billion units sold annually, the mouse remains indispensable for navigating the digital world. Its design has evolved over decades, yet its fundamental purpose endures. While most people recognise its utility, few realise that its origins date back more than half a century, to the visionary work of Douglas Engelbart, an engineer who forever transformed the field of computing.

Douglas Engelbart was born on 30 January 1925 in Portland, Oregon, to a family of Norwegian descent. From a young age, he demonstrated a profound interest in science and technology, a passion that led him to study electrical engineering at Oregon State University, and later at the University of California, Berkeley. During the Second World War, he worked as a radar technician, an experience that sparked his curiosity about the burgeoning possibilities of emerging technologies.

In 1949, Engelbart established the Augmentation Research Centre at the Stanford Research Institute (SRI), a pioneering laboratory dedicated to exploring how to enhance human interaction with early computers. These machines, which were enormous and rudimentary, occupied entire rooms. Engelbart was determined to make them more accessible and practical for everyday use.

The Invention of the Mouse

In the early 1960s, Engelbart began working on a device that would enable users to interact intuitively with computers. This led to the design of the world’s first mouse, a simple device employing a wheel to translate physical movement into cursor displacement on a screen. In 1964, Bill English, another engineer at SRI, built the prototype based on Engelbart's design. This small wooden device, featuring a single button, laid the groundwork for a technology that remains central to modern computing.

Innovations that Defined the Future

Engelbart's creativity extended far beyond the invention of the mouse. During the 1960s, he pioneered the concept of the graphical user interface, enabling users to organise and interact with information visually on a screen, rather than relying on punch cards. This breakthrough in computer interaction marked a defining moment in the industry.

On 8 December 1968, Engelbart and his team presented what is now famously known as "the mother of all demos" in San Francisco. During this historic demonstration, they unveiled the NLS (oN-Line System), a comprehensive computing system that incorporated the mouse, hypertext, video conferencing, collaborative document editing, email, and interactive graphics. This single session showcased technological innovations that would shape the next several decades of computing.

The Legacy of a Visionary

Despite his transformative contributions, Engelbart did not receive widespread recognition at the time. The mouse only gained popularity in the 1980s with the advent of personal computers such as the Apple Lisa and Macintosh, which incorporated graphical interfaces inspired by his ideas.

However, Engelbart's influence extends far beyond the mouse. His pioneering work on graphical interfaces, online collaboration, and information management provided the foundation for modern computing. Throughout his life, he remained committed to scientific research, driven by the belief that technology could serve as a tool to augment human potential. Engelbart passed away in 2013, leaving behind a legacy that continues to shape how we engage with the digital world.

Today, every click not only connects us to information but also to the vision of a man who imagined a future where machines empower humanity.