There, he and his team worked on a number of concepts that have entered the computer mainstream, such as email, video conferencing, hypertext links and ARPAnet, the precursor of the Internet.

But he is best remembered for the mouse, which in its original incarnation was a wood box with two metal wheels and was granted a patent in 1970.

He had publicly used it two years earlier during a video conference in San Francisco before some 1,000 people -- an event that became known as "the mother of all demos."

Engelbart had a total of 21 patents to his name. In 2000 he was presented with the National Medal of Technology, the tech industry's highest honor.