Douglas C. Engelbart, Inventor of the Computer Mouse, Dies at 88

From the New York TImes:  

"In his epiphany, he saw himself sitting in front of a large computer screen full of different symbols — an image most likely derived from his work on radar consoles while in the Navy after World War II. The screen, he thought, would serve as a display for a workstation that would organize all the information and communications for a given project."

Not sure how long the link will last.