Christopher Latham Sholes (1819–1890)
Christopher Latham Sholes was an American inventor, newspaper publisher, and Wisconsin politician best known as a principal inventor of the first commercially successful typewriter and the originator of the QWERTY keyboard layout.
Early Life and Journalism
Sholes was born on February 14, 1819, in Mooresburg, Pennsylvania. Trained as a printer, he moved to the Wisconsin Territory in the 1830s, where he built a career in the press. He edited and published newspapers in Kenosha and Milwaukee, including work with the Milwaukee Sentinel and the Milwaukee Free Democrat. His editorial voice promoted reform causes and, notably, antislavery positions.
Public Service
Alongside journalism, Sholes served in public office. He was a member of both the Wisconsin State Senate and the Wisconsin State Assembly and held several local administrative posts in Milwaukee. His legislative and civic work reflected his long-standing interest in practical reforms and public administration.
Invention of the Typewriter
In the mid-1860s, working in Milwaukee with collaborators Samuel W. Soule and Carlos Glidden, Sholes developed a machine that imprinted letters on paper using typebars and an inked ribbon. The team secured a U.S. patent for a “Type-Writer” on June 23, 1868 (U.S. Patent No. 79,265). With the backing and promotion of James Densmore, the rights were sold in 1873 to E. Remington & Sons of Ilion, New York. Remington introduced the Sholes & Glidden Type-Writer (later known as the Remington No. 1) in 1874, the first typewriter to achieve commercial success.
The QWERTY Keyboard
To improve reliability and speed on early machines—whose typebars could jam when neighboring letters were struck in rapid succession—Sholes iteratively rearranged the keys. The resulting QWERTY layout, refined through practical testing and adopted on his later prototypes, was carried forward by Remington and subsequent manufacturers. It became the de facto standard on typewriters and, eventually, on computer keyboards worldwide.
Later Work and Legacy
Sholes continued to refine typewriting technology after the initial commercialization, securing additional patents and experimenting with alternative key arrangements. Although he sold much of his interest in the machine, his work transformed office practice, accelerated business communication, and opened new avenues of employment—especially for women—across the late 19th and 20th centuries. He died on February 17, 1890, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and is buried at Forest Home Cemetery.
Selected Patents
- U.S. Patent No. 79,265 (June 23, 1868), Type-Writer (with Samuel W. Soule and Carlos Glidden)
- Subsequent U.S. patents for improvements to typewriting machines and numbering devices