User:Elcobbola/Pratt

John Pratt (14 April 1831 - ) was an American journalist and inventor. Pratt invented a printing machine, the Pterotype, which served as the inspiration for the first commercially successful typewriter, the Sholes and Glidden. Accordingly, Pratt has been called "the grandfather" of the typewriter.

History
John Pratt was born in Union, South Carolina (then called Unionville) on 14 April 1831. In 1849, Pratt graduated from Cokesbury college. He remained in the Southern United States and was variously employed as an attorney and journalist. In or about 1852, Pratt married Julia R. Porter. The couple moved to England, during which time Pratt was engaged in the creation of a mechanical writing device he termed "the Pterotype".

Pratt is buried in John Pratt Memorial Park in Centre, Alabama.