Ted Nelson was the one who invented hypertext


He first started as a filmmaker after graduating college. Following by University of Chicago he then went to Harvard University where he took a course in computer programming. That was the beginning of the invention of hypertext. 


He invented the idea of hypertext applying his background knowledge as a filmmaker. First hypertext appeared in the newspaper http://faculty.vassar.edu/mijoyce/Ted_sed.html, then years later Ted Nelson wrote a book about the concept of hypertext called Literary Machines.


Ted Nelson continued to develop his invention and worked with Project Xanadu. 


He also worked with organizations:


The Xanadu Group                                                                       


The Xanadu Operating Company


Hypertext Conference: the first hypertext conference was held in 1987, supported by 23 companies including such big companies as Apple Computer

Autodesk: later the Xanadu project and the trademark was given back to Nelson because it was renamed after Vannevar Bush’s system


Serious Cybernetics


After working with those companies Ted Nelson moved to Japan and worked at Sapporo HyperLab and at Keio University as a Professor of Environmental Information. 
Finally, he became the first recipient of Oxford Internet Institute  (OII). 

He also has a webpage at hyperland.com

More detailed information about Ted Nelson and his invention can be found on the

http://www.livinginternet.com/w/wi_nelson.htm