How it works
Start with a single segment. At every step, append a reversed copy of the path rotated through a right angle around its endpoint. Rescaling keeps the endpoints a fixed distance apart. Each step doubles the number of segments.
Where it began
The Heighway dragon was investigated by NASA researchers John Heighway, Bruce Banks and William Harter. Martin Gardner brought it to a wider audience in his Mathematical Games column in Scientific American in 1967. The year 1967 marks its introduction to a wider audience.