Sketchpad Demonstration

Ivan Sutherland's doctoral thesis demonstrated Sketchpad, a pioneering interactive computer graphics program that allowed users to draw and manipulate objects directly on a CRT screen with a light pen.

Significance

Established the fundamental concepts of interactive graphics and graphical user interfaces, proving the feasibility of direct manipulation that would be crucial for workstations.

Key facts

Date
1963-01-01
Type
invention
Location
MIT Lincoln Laboratory, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA