First mouse. - Doug Engelbart invented the computer mouse in 1963, built by his lead engineer Bill English as part of an experiment to find better ways to point-and-click on a display screen. Made in a shop at SRI, the casing was carved out of wood. It had only one button, which was all there was room for. Subsequent models featured three buttons. Engelbart would have gone for even more buttons, but there was only room for three of the needed micro-switches available in those days.