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Interfaces & HCI · Recorded milestone

Sketchpad

Recorded year1963

Ivan Sutherland draws and manipulates shapes directly on a computer screen.

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Built on

TransistorRecorded · 1947requires
Stored-program computerRecorded · 1948requires
Light penRecorded · 1955enables

Led to

Head-mounted displayRecorded · 1968enables
Digital paint programRecorded · 1973enables
Graphical user interfaceRecorded · 1973enables
Ray-traced computer graphicsRecorded · 1980enables
Computer-animated feature filmRecorded · 1995enables
Real-time 3D game enginesRecorded · 1996enables

Sources & evidence

Additional source

Dataset updated 2026-10-18. This individual record has not been separately re-reviewed.