computer graphics in the 1950s

Joachim Thiemann wrote: *applause* Ahh, the minefield of "what was the first..." questions :-) In the electronic arena, the Manchester machine (Mk.1) had a visual display of what was going on inside the Williams Tubes, and I believe that system pre-dated Whirlwind by a few years (essentially completed in 1948 vs. 1951?) - however what I'm not sure of is whether the visual display was there from day one, or if it was added later as a debugging aid... Furthermore, what's a "graphical display", anyway? Most people seem to make the distinction between graphics and text-mode terminals - so maybe early CRTs etc. that only display machine state or rudimentary characters don't count? Perhaps the first graphical display is one that can render some form of graphics primitives (lines, arcs etc.) direct from software using a bitmapped or vector display? cheers Jules