Nowadays we are surrounded by lots of things and lots of devices that make our lives easier and we are so used to them and having them around that we seldom wonder when they were invented, who invented them or what was life like without them. All the things around us were invented by someone and most of them were considered great inventions and have been put into practice only recently.

For example we use the computer mouse every day but never wonder who was its inventor, who was the brilliant scientist who had the idea of designing it. Although the computer mouse is a common accessory it was invented a long time ago, so it took it almost 20 years to become popular and used o an broad scale.


But first of all, what does a computer mouse do? We know how to use it, but let's image that one day we will have to manage without it. Can you do that? Can you only use your keyboard to work or play on your computer? I know I can't. The mouse provides an easy point-and-click interface with your computer. It offers you easy access to different tasks you set for it. Otherwise you will be forced to use different shortcuts or open a lot of windows until you reach the right one. But when you use a mouse, you just have to move the mouse, choose the right icon, click and give the right command.That's what a mouse does.It provides the easiest way to interact with your computer.


Many people believe that the mouse was invented by Apple. The fact is that it became well-known when used by Apple, but we cannot credit Apple for this discovery. Others think that Steve Jobs stole the idea from Xerox where it was used on an early variant of a computer, called the Star. But the truth is that the people who actually invented computers and computer mouse are little known or unknown. They used to work on huge computers that had the size of a room and belonged to a very small group of people, usually scientists. Then you had to point a light pen at a screen to move the cursor and computers were difficult to work with.

So yesterday I was curious and I searched the Internet to find out who was the father of the "mouse". Thus I learned that the computer mouse was invented between 1963-1964 by a man named Douglas Engelbart. He was working at Stanford Research Institute and was trying to find a better way point and click on a display screen. He worked in the computer industry when only few people knew what a computer was. During that time only trained scientists could work with a computer and knew how to use it. After 12 years of research and hard work he discovered a simpler way of teaming computers. By inventing the computer mouse and some other devices used with a computer, he made it possible for normal people to use a computer due to his user-friendly tools. He made the transition from the computer as an exclusive device used only by scientists to its use worldwide by common people like you and me.

Actually a group of scientists from the Royal Canadian Navy used a small bowling ball to create the "ancestor" of the computer mouse in the '50s. It was the first track ball, a pointing device that appeared as part of a top secret research, but never patented. Still, that was a big step forward in computer industry and usage.

In 1964 Douglas Englebart finished building the first prototype computer mouse that could be used with a graphical user interface - Windows.

It looked very different from its appearance nowadays and it was kind of funny. The computer mouse invented by Englebart was carved in wood and only had one button. It was equipped with two metal wheels that made contact with the working surface. Because the cord that linked this "tool" to the computer was coming out of the wooden shell from behind and looked like a mouse tail, Englebart called it a "mouse" and the name stuck. Englebart's computer mouse was patented in November 1970 with the number 3.541.541 and it was described as "X-Y position indicator for a display system".

The two wheels of the mouse were used to track X and Y positions which were then translated into motion on a computer monitor. It was revolutionary and patented but the inventor did not have any advantage of his invention because the patent expired before the mouse became popular and used on a large range.

Now Douglas Ebgelbart is the director of his company, Bootstrap Institute in Fremont, California and, ironically, his company does not have to pay rent thanks to Logitech Comp., a famous company that produces computer mice.


But that was only the beginning of the computer mouse. It suffered many transformations in time and the next step was to have a ball incorporated. This change was made by Bill English who, in 1972 , invented the ball-mouse. In fact, he used to work for Douglas Englebart and that's how he came into contact with his invention. The new mouse now had a ball instead of two wheel and could move in all directions. English's mouse worked like an inverted track ball and was incorporated in a computer system. This kind of mouse was taken over by Mac and, due to its immense popularity, spread worldwide. The ball mouse was used in the 1980s and 1990s but now it's history, too.

We now use wireless computer mice and keyboards; now they are coloured and have lots of buttons or lights, are transparent or glow in the dark; they have a very big variety. And it's only a step forward, because computer world is changing as we speak.