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Larry Tesler, creator of the cut, copy and paste commands, dies at 74

Posted at 12:33 PM, Feb 20, 2020
and last updated 2020-02-20 12:33:43-05

Larry Tesler, the computer scientist best known for inventing the “cut, copy and paste” commands, died Monday.

Xerox, where Tesler previously worked as a researcher, announced his passing on Twitter on Wednesday.

“Your workday is easier thanks to his revolutionary ideas,” wrote the company. “Larry passed away Monday, so please join us in celebrating him.”

Tesler was 74 years old, Vice and BBC report.

Along with inventing the keyboard shortcuts that allow computer users to remove, duplicate and reposition chunks of text, Tesler also created “find and replace,” among others things.

Gizmodo reports that Tesler worked at Xerox from 1973 to 1980. After leaving Xerox, he worked at Apple until 1997.

During his career, Tesler became one of the pioneers of tech who made computers and mobile devices accessible and easy to use for everyone.