Wikipedia:Today's featured article/March 3, 2010

The Sholes and Glidden typewriter was the first commercially successful typewriter. Principally designed by Christopher L. Sholes, it was developed with the assistance of Samuel W. Soule and Carlos S. Glidden. The machine was acquired by E. Remington and Sons in early 1873. An arms manufacturer seeking to diversify, Remington further refined the typewriter before finally placing it on the market on July 1, 1874. During its development, the typewriter evolved from a crude curiosity into a practical device, the basic form of which became the industry standard, incorporating elements which became fundamental to typewriter design, such as a cylindrical platen and a four-rowed QWERTY keyboard. Several design deficiencies remained, however. The Sholes and Glidden could print only upper-case letters and the typist could not see what was being written as it was entered. Initially, the typewriter received an unenthusiastic reception from the public. Lack of an established market, high cost, and the need for trained operators slowed its adoption. The new communication technologies and expanding businesses of the late 19th century had created a need for expedient, legible correspondence, and so the Sholes and Glidden and its contemporaries soon became ubiquitous office fixtures. (more...)

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