William English

Updated: 08/31/2020 by Computer Hope
William K. English

Name: William "Bill" K. English

Born: January 27, 1929 in Lexington, Kentucky, USA

Death: July 26, 2020 (Age: 91)

Computer-related contributions

  • American computer engineer who is known for his work in the development of the first computer mouse.
  • First person to join Douglas Engelbart's lab, the Augmentation Research Center (1964).
  • Key participant in The Mother of All Demos in 1964 that demonstrated the mouse and other technologies developed as part of the NLS (oN-Line System).
  • Developed a process to connect a terminal in the San Francisco Civic Auditorium to a host computer at SRI and transmit audio and video.
  • Managed the Office Systems Research Group at Xerox PARC (1971).
  • Developed a ball mouse while working at PARC.

Honors and awards

  • SRI International Alumni Hall of Fame Award (2006).

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