The History of the Computer Mouse

  • Trackball

    Trackball
    The trackball was invented in 1941 by Ralph Benjamin as part of a World at War II-era fire-control radar plotting system.
  • Trackball Patened

    The trackball was patened in 1947 but only one protoype was made useing a metal ball rolling on 2 rubber coated wheels. This was kept a military secret.
  • The Naming of the Mouse

    The Naming of the Mouse
    Douglas Engelbart invented his first mouse prototype, with the help of his lead engineer Bill English, They named the device the mouse becasue it resembled a mouse with the cord coming out of the back of the mouse.
  • Telefunken Main Frame

    When the Telefunken Main Frame was being produced his team came up with a movable trackball, This would prevent the need to make holes to mount for early trackballs.
  • The Release of the Rollkugel

    The Rollkugel was released a few months before Engelbart released his demo.
  • Engelbart's Release

    On this date Engelbart released his mouse idea to the world.
  • Mouse put in for Personal Use

    The mouses were integrated as part of a computer and intended for personal use with the Xerox 8010 Star Information System.
  • Well Knowen

    The Xerox 8010 was the best knowen computer to have a mice with it.
  • Microsoft

    Microsoft came up with a program that was mouse compatable called MS-DOS. Then Microsoft became the first to have a PC-compatible mouse.
  • Microsoft First Mouse Shipping

    Microsoft First Mouse Shipping
    Microsoft's mouse shipped in 1983, thus beginning Microsoft Hardware.
  • Macintosh Mouse

    However, the mouse remained relatively obscure until the 1984 appearance of the Macintosh 128K