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Computer scientist who invented cut, copy and paste, dies at 74

We all have Larry Tesler to thank for making our lives a lot easier.
Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto
Cut, copy, paste

Larry Tesler, the computer scientist behind the cut, copy and paste function, has died. He was 74-years-old. 

Xerox, where Tesler spent part of his career as a researcher, paid tribute to his contributions. 

"The inventor of cut/copy & paste, find & replace, and more was former Xerox researcher Larry Tesler. Your workday is easier thanks to his revolutionary ideas. Larry passed away Monday, so please join us in celebrating him," Xerox tweeted. 

Tesler studied at Stanford University and worked for several major tech firms throughout his long career, including Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (Parc), Apple, Amazon and Yahoo, according to BBC.

From 1980 to 1997, he worked at Apple and rose through the ranks to eventually become the company's Chief Scientist.  

MIT's largest research lab, the Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence Lab, even made sure to incorporate Tesler's most well-known invention into its tribute. 

"RIP to computing pioneer Larry Tesler, the inventor of copy-paste. RIP to computing pioneer Larry Tesler, the inventor of copy-paste. RIP to computing pioneer Larry Tesler, the inventor of copy-paste," MIT CSAIL tweeted. 

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