Computer Mouse
, 1964
In 1964, Douglas Engelbart cobbled together the first prototype of the computer mouse, composed of two perpendicular wheels housed in a wooden box. Inspired by a planimeter (the device then used by geographers and engineers to measure areas on a map or drawing), the device tracked the coordinates for a cursor on a computer screen when rolled on a tabletop - thus giving the mouse its first name, “X-Y position indicator for a display system.”