The document discusses the history of object-oriented programming. It describes early computing projects like Project Whirlwind that used interactive computing. It then discusses Ivan Sutherland's 1963 PhD thesis called Sketchpad, which is considered a precursor to object-oriented programming. Sketchpad used the concept of objects and components to allow for interactive drawing with a light pen on a computer screen. The general functions developed in Sketchpad gave it the ability to operate on different types of entities, laying the foundations for object-oriented programming.