The man who invented the computer mouse, Doug Engelbart, has died at the age of 88.
The American computer visionary suffered kidney failure at his home in California on July 2nd.
Englebert studied electrical engineering at Oregon State University before serving as a radar technician during the Second World War.
Doug Engelbart 1925-2013
After gaining a doctorate and working a stint at the Stanford Research Institute he set up his own lab, the Augmentation Research Centre.
It was here in his quest to making computers easier to use and more accessible that he developed a wooden shell containing two wheels described in the 1967 patent application as an "X-Y position indicator for a display system".
And the mouse was born.
Englebert was granted the patent in 1970 but was so ahead of his time that it had ran out just as Apple, who had bought the licence for just $40,000, were making the technology popular in the mid-80s.
As a result he received very little money for what became a computing staple around the world. At least one billion have been sold.
Englebert's achievements were far more than just the humble mouse. He was also involved in ARPANET, a precursor to the internet.
At the same presentation in which he introduced the mouse in 1968 also demonstrated the world's first video teleconference.
His recognition includes the Lemelson-MIT prize in 1997 which "recognises individuals who translate their ideas into inventions and innovations that improve the world in which we live".
In 2000 President Bush awarded him the National Medal of Technology and Innovation for "outstanding contributions to the Nation’s technological concepts".
He is survived by his second wife, Karen O'Leary Engelbart, and four children.