History of Typewriters Timeline

The first Remington typewriters introduced the keyboard arrangement that became known as QWERTY. Its layout was developed during Sholes's revisions and helped reduce mechanical clashes in the machine's type-bar mechanism; it later became the dominant English-language keyboard standard.

Image source: QWERTY

Frank Edward McGurrin's widely publicized success using touch typing helped demonstrate that operators could type without looking at the keys. His 1888 contest victory contributed to the growth of typing instruction and professional stenography.

George C. Blickensderfer patented the compact Blickensderfer typewriter. It used a rotating typewheel, a simplified keyboard, and fewer moving parts than many competitors, making it portable and economical even though it did not displace standard type-bar machines.

Image source: Blickensderfer typewriter

The Blickensderfer Electric, developed by George C. Blickensderfer, is commonly identified as the first electric typewriter. It was not commercially successful, but it showed how motors could reduce the physical effort required to operate a keyboard machine.

Image source: Typewriter

The German Mignon typewriter used an index and rotating type cylinder instead of a full character keyboard. It offered a relatively inexpensive way to produce different alphabets and type styles and remained in production for decades.

The Varityper, developed from the Hammond system, used interchangeable type elements and proportional spacing. It allowed offices and publishers to produce more varied and visually sophisticated documents than conventional fixed-pitch typewriters.

IBM acquired the technology of the Electromatic typewriter and began marketing electric typewriters in the 1930s. Motorized operation reduced key pressure and improved consistency, establishing the basis for IBM's later dominance in professional typing equipment.

IBM's Model A refined electric typewriter mechanisms for office use. Electric actuation made sustained typing less tiring and provided more uniform impressions, accelerating the transition from purely mechanical machines in businesses and institutions.

IBM introduced the Selectric typewriter, replacing individual type bars with a rotating spherical type element known as the typeball. The mechanism largely eliminated type-bar jams, supported interchangeable typefaces, and became one of the most influential office machines of the twentieth century.

Image source: IBM Selectric

IBM introduced the Magnetic Tape Selectric Typewriter, which stored typed text on magnetic tape and could replay or revise material. It connected typewriting with electronic data processing and is often regarded as an early word-processing system.

IBM's Magnetic Card Selectric Typewriter stored documents and reusable text on removable magnetic cards. The system made corrections and repeated document production much easier, bridging conventional typewriters and dedicated word processors.

Diablo Systems developed a commercially successful daisy-wheel printing technology. Its interchangeable wheel and letter-quality output made it an important electronic successor to typewriters, especially for business correspondence before laser printers became widespread.

Xerox introduced the Memorywriter, an early dedicated electronic word processor. It combined a keyboard and display with electronic document storage and printing, demonstrating the direction in which advanced typewriters were evolving.

Image source: Word processor

Canon's Typestar 1 was among the early portable electronic typewriters aimed at consumers and mobile professionals. Electronic controls, compact construction, and correction features made such machines more convenient than traditional mechanical portables.

Brother launched the EP-20, a compact electronic word processor with a small display and thermal printer. It represented the growing convergence of typewriter, calculator, and computer technologies in affordable personal office equipment.

The release of the IBM Personal Computer accelerated the adoption of computer-based word processing. Software offered editing, storage, and formatting capabilities that increasingly displaced dedicated typewriters in offices.

Image source: IBM Personal Computer

Microsoft released Word, first for Xenix and later for other platforms. Its editable documents, formatting tools, and eventual integration with personal computers helped establish software-based word processing as the standard alternative to typewritten pages.

Image source: Microsoft Word

Apple's Macintosh introduced a widely influential graphical user interface and supported increasingly accessible word-processing workflows. On-screen editing and document formatting further reduced the advantages of traditional typewriters.

Image source: Macintosh 128K

IBM sold its typewriter and keyboard business to Lexmark in 1991. The transaction symbolized the company's shift away from dedicated typewriters and toward computers, printers, and information technology services.

Image source: IBM

During the 2010s, writers, artists, collectors, and privacy advocates renewed interest in mechanical and electric typewriters. The machines became valued for their tactile experience, permanence, distinctive typography, resistance to digital distraction, and role in twentieth-century social history.

Brother Industries announced the end of Japanese typewriter production after its factory in Nagoya made its final machines. The closure reflected the near-complete replacement of typewriters by computers, although specialized and enthusiast markets continued.

India's Godrej and Boyce stopped manufacturing typewriters, with the final machines produced at its Mumbai facility. The announcement was widely reported as marking the end of mass production of conventional typewriters, though small-scale production and repair continued elsewhere.

Reports that the Russian government purchased typewriters for sensitive documents highlighted a continuing security niche. Typewritten records are harder to modify remotely and do not carry the same digital malware and network-exfiltration risks as computer files.