On June 23, 1868, at the machine shop of C.F. Kleinsteuber in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Christopher Latham Sholes, alongside Samuel W. Soule, Carlos Glidden, and Matthias Schwalbach, perfected the invention of the typewriter — specifically, the first practical design of the writing machine. Prior to this event, the typewriter had undergone countless iterations since its first prototype was made in 1823 by an Italian named Pietro Conti da Cilavegna.
Eventually, the inventors, with the exception of Sholes, withdrew from the project altogether due to numerous disagreements with their financier, James Densmore. From then on, Sholes and Densmore partnered to further develop the typewriter. In 1873, hoping to sell their product for mass production, the pair approached Remington & Sons of Ilion, New York — the same Remington Arms Company known for manufacturing weapons and ammunition. At the time, the United States had just emerged from the Civil War, and businesses such as Remington were looking to expand their trade and commerce by diversifying their products. That same year, the company offered to purchase the patent for the typewriter from Sholes and Densmore. Sholes agreed and sold half of his share for USD 12,000. Densmore, however, saw potential not just in this deal but in the future of the typewriter as well, and insisted on being paid in royalties instead. This decision would ultimately earn him a total of USD 1.5 million.
Sholes, ever the passionate inventor, remained hands-on with the typewriter project, later incorporating various improvements to the original design throughout the 1870s. One of these additions was the now-iconic QWERTY keyboard layout, a development later included in Remington typewriter models. But why this particular layout? There are numerous, mostly apocryphal stories regarding the adoption of this keyboard configuration. Some claim that it was designed so typewriter salesmen could impress potential customers by pecking out “TYPE WRITER” using only the first row of keys. This story, however, remains unsubstantiated. Another prevailing theory suggests that the QWERTY arrangement was devised to place the most commonly used combinations of letters farther apart to reduce the likelihood of typebar jams. Whatever the truth may be, the QWERTY layout was finalized within a few months of Remington’s acquisition of the patents and entered production. It gained widespread popularity due to the success of the Remington No. 2 model typewriter in 1878.
Christopher Latham Sholes never profited from the eventual success of his invention. He died on Feb. 17, 1890, just three days after his 71st birthday, following a nine-year battle with tuberculosis. He was laid to rest at Forest Home Cemetery in his home city of Milwaukee. In recent years, his name has gradually emerged from obscurity, recognized and respected by collectors, repairmen, and hobbyists in the typewriter community.
The typewriter, despite its decline into obsolescence, played a pivotal role in revolutionizing the world in the century following its creation. It is almost impossible to imagine a world without the QWERTY keyboard. Many other layouts have been invented and tested in the years since its adoption, yet the one we know and use today has endured. The legacy of this iconic machine, and by extension, the legacy of Sholes himself, lives on. He will forever be remembered as the father of the typewriter.
