Computer mouse co-developer William English dies at 91

William “Bill” English, the engineer who co-developed the first computer mouse alongside Douglas Engelbart, passed away at the age of 91.

According to a report by the New York Times, English died from respiratory failure at a medical facility in San Rafael, California on July 26.

During the mid-‘60s, English turned Engelbart’s concept idea into a reality - a device that can be used to control images on a machine that can perform various tasks - an invention that later revolutionalized the digital era.

In 1968, Engelbart and English unveiled their experimental computer dubbed as the ‘oNLine System’ during “The Mother of All Demos” event that served as one of the iconic moments in the history of modern computers.

During the demonstration, Engelbart served as the face of the duo on the stage as he showed the features of the machine while English was responsible for orchestrating the computer behind the curtains. The pair’s demonstration of the experimental computer showed some of the key features of the modern-day machine such as online text editing, hypertext links and video conferencing.

(Photo courtesy: https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9722998)