Larry Tesler, the mind behind cut, copy, and paste, passes away at the age of 74

At the age of 74, Lawrence “Larry” Tesler, the innovator responsible for the implementation of cut, copy, and paste functionality, has passed away.

He passed on Monday, February 17, with the announcement of his death being made on Twitter by Xerox, where he had worked during his career.

Xerox’s tweet stated, “Former Xerox researcher Larry Tesler, the inventor of cut/copy & paste, find & replace, and more, revolutionized the workday with his remarkable ideas.”

Born in the Bronx, New York, in 1945, Mr. Tesler pursued his studies at Stanford University in California. He focused on human-computer interaction and applied his expertise at various companies, including Amazon, Apple, Yahoo, and the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC).

A pioneer in the early days of computing, he began his career in Silicon Valley during the 1960s, when computers were not widely accessible. After completing his education, he specialized in user interface design.

Starting his journey at Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC), he was later recruited by Steve Jobs to join Apple, where he spent 17 years and eventually became chief scientist. Subsequently, he ventured into the field of education startups and gained experience in user-experience technology at Amazon and Yahoo.

His contributions, including the establishment of “cut,” “copy,” and “paste” commands, played a crucial role in making personal computers more user-friendly.

The Computer History Museum in Silicon Valley honored him by tweeting, “Tesler created the idea of ‘cut, copy, & paste’ and merged computer science expertise with a vision that computers should be accessible to everyone.”

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