Typewriter Patented: Sholes Launches Modern Office Revolution
Christopher Latham Sholes, along with Carlos Glidden and Samuel Soule, received US Patent No. 79,265 for the "Type-Writer" on June 23, 1868. The QWERTY keyboard layout that Sholes developed was designed to prevent jamming in the mechanical typebar mechanism by separating commonly used letter pairs. Remington and Sons, the firearms manufacturer, began producing the Sholes & Glidden Type-Writer in 1873. Mark Twain reportedly purchased one and may have been the first author to submit a typewritten manuscript to a publisher. The typewriter transformed office work: before its invention, all business correspondence was handwritten. The machine opened clerical work to women, creating an entirely new female-dominated profession. By 1900, there were 100,000 stenographers in America, most of them women.
June 23, 1868
158 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on June 23
He didn't wait for permission. Sun Quan had controlled the Yangtze River delta for decades, outlasting rivals who underestimated him, watching Cao Cao die, watc…
Minamoto Yorimasa and his allies clashed with the Taira clan at the Uji River, triggering the five-year Genpei War. This struggle ended the era of imperial cour…
The Genoese showed up to Trapani with more ships. They lost every single one. The War of Saint Sabas wasn't about saints — it was about trade routes, warehouse …
Castile sent 10,000 soldiers into the mountains near Moclín expecting a straightforward campaign. They walked into a trap. Granadan forces used the brutal terra…
Granada's outnumbered army didn't retreat. They waited. At Moclín in 1280, Emir Muhammad II let the Castilian force chase them into the narrow passes of the Sie…
The Treaty of Athis-sur-Orge forced the Flemish to pay crushing war indemnities and cede key territories to the French crown following their defeat at Mons-en-P…
Talk to History
Have a conversation with historical figures who witnessed this era. Ask questions, explore perspectives, and bring history to life.