At Doug Engelbart’s right hand during the demo was the first computer mouse, which he invented in 1963, inspired by the light pens he used to point to radar screens as a naval electronic technician. Engelbart and his team prototyped several ideas, including a nose pointer that clipped to the user’s glasses. “We were impressed with how accurately people could position their heads,” he recalls.

While the mouse is his best-known invention, patent US3541541 is only one of 20 patents Engelbart holds for various digital devices. Other innovations featured in his 1968 demo of the first networked collaborative computer system were prophetic of the technology revolution that was about to put the power of computing into the hands of everyday people.

Engelbart’s contributions will be commemorated on the 40-year anniversary of his demo with an event hosted by SRI International (the former Stanford Research Institute) and culminating in a celebration December 9 at Stanford University. For more details, go to www.dougengelbart.org.