The computer mouse was invented in Britain in 1946 but was kept secret by the Admiralty. The inventor, 90-year-old Professor Ralf Benjamin was never given credit for the device. It is only after recent coverage of the death of Doug Engelbart that Prof.Benjamin decided to speak up. Although his invention was more a trackball, with the hand moving over a stationary instrument, the concept is exactly the same as the early computer mouses.
The British have been very good at hiding and then forgetting their technological innovation. It was only in the late 1970s that the secretive government released details of the ground-breaking research into the electronic computer that took place at Bletchley Park during World War Two. It was so secret, in fact, that mathematical genius Alan Touring was hounded to his death because of what he knew and because, as a homosexual, he was considered a security risk.