Douglas Engelbart , whose invention of the mouse transformed the way people interact with computers , has died . Engelbart died Tuesday night at his home in Atherton , California , SRI International -- the research institute where he once worked -- said in a statement . He was 88 . `` Doug 's legacy is immense — anyone in the world who uses a mouse or enjoys the productive benefits of a personal computer is indebted to him , '' Curtis R. Carlson , SRI 's president and CEO , said in a written statement . Decades ago , Engelbart came up with the idea we now know as a mouse . His first prototype , which featured a carved out wooden block , wheels and a tiny red button , looks quite different from the sleek plastic designs now seen in homes and offices around the world . A radar technician during World War II , Engelbart worked at the Stanford Research Institute during the 1960s . It was there that a vision of people sitting in front of a video screen , interacting with a computer , came to him . `` I knew enough engineering and had enough experience as a radar person to know that if a computer can punch cards or print paper , it can draw anything you want on a screen , '' he told CNN in 1997 after receiving a $ 500,000 prize for American innovation . Engelbart invented and patented what he called the `` x-y position indicator , '' receiving a $ 10,000 check for the invention . He told CNN he could n't recall who on his team had decided to call it a mouse . At the time , it was n't easy to convince fellow scientists to follow his vision , Engelbart said . But he persisted . Later , he went on to found the Doug Engelbart Institute , a nonprofit dedicated to boosting the collective ability to solve complex , urgent problems on a global scale . `` Sometimes I reflect on how naive somebody has to be in order to get visions -- and plug away at them -- that ultimately proceed , and how many other people with visions that are as naive just fall off the cliff , '' Engelbart told CNN in 1997 . In addition to the computer mouse , Engelbart 's work at SRI from 1957 to 1977 helped develop tech innovations such as display editing , online processing , linking and in-file object addressing , use of multiple windows , hypermedia , and context-sensitive help , the institute said . `` Doug was a giant who made the world a much better place and who deeply touched those of us who knew him , '' Carlson said . `` SRI was very privileged and honored to have him as one of our 'family . ' He brought tremendous value to society . We will miss his genius , warmth and charm . '' Engelbart is survived by his wife and four children . People we lost in 2013 : The lives they lived .
' Engelbart invented the electric mouse . He died Tuesday , at home in California , with International Inc . Research ##es stating : ` ` Anyone in the world who uses a mouse ... is indebted to him ''