Typewriter

ORDERBY-NAME: Typewriter

OTHER-NAME: None

DATE INVENTED/BEGAN: 1867

PLACE INVENTED/BEGAN: Milwaukee, WI

DATE ENDED:

PLACE ENDED

DISCIPLINE: Technology

FIELD: Invention

ASSESSMENT:  Between the printing press and the computer, the typewriter was the major advance in office technology and helped in the movement to emancipate women.

LANGUAGE: English

DETAILS:

After perhaps 112 attempts (in England, Italy, Austria, Germany, Denmark. Brazil and the U.S.to design a functioning typewriter, in 1869 publisher Christopher (invented by> Scholes* and machine-shop worker <invented by> Carlos Glidden* produced their machine.  The rights were then sold on to the <developed and marketed by> Remington* Arms Co.  In 1874, in Ilion, NY, Remington launched the Remington No. 1  model (a slow seller).

The basic design of the typewriter was inspired by the piano, using the concept of pressing a key to cause an arm to lift and strike (the first typewriters printed on the underside of the paper).  BY 1878 Remington’s No 2 model (a great success) incorporated all the features which were to become standard.  These included printing on the top side of the paper, a shift key to move from upper to lower case, a space bar, and a QWERTY keyboard layout. 

A part-explanation for the QWERTY letter-layout is that Scholes realised his type bars (which swing up to strike the paper) were close enough to jam easily, so he widely separated the letters most commonly found together (like t+h).

ONELINER: The typewriter

EXTRA-CONNECTIONS: None

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Encyclopedia Brittanica

http://home.earthlink.net/~dcrehr/firsttw~.htm