C. Latham Sholes | |
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![]() Christopher Latham Sholes | |
Member of the Wisconsin Senate from the 8th district | |
In office January 7, 1856 – January 4, 1858 | |
Preceded by | Francis Paddock |
Succeeded by | Samuel R. McClellan |
Member of the Wisconsin Senate from the 16th district | |
In office June 5, 1848 – January 7, 1850 | |
Preceded by | Position Established |
Succeeded by | Elijah Steele |
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the Kenosha 1st district | |
In office January 5, 1852 – January 2, 1854 | |
Preceded by | Henry Johnson |
Succeeded by | Samuel Hale Jr. |
Personal details | |
Born | Christopher Latham Sholes February 14, 1819 Mooresburg, Penn., U.S. |
Died | February 17, 1890 Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S. | (aged 71)
Resting place | Forest Home Cemetery, Milwaukee, Wisconsin[1] |
Political party |
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Spouse | Mary Jane McKinney (died 1888) |
Children |
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Parents |
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Relatives | Charles Sholes (brother) |
Occupation | Printer, inventor, legislator |
Known for | "The Father of the typewriter,"[1] inventor of the QWERTY keyboard |
Signature | ![]() |
Christopher Latham Sholes (February 14, 1819 – February 17, 1890) was an American inventor who invented the QWERTY keyboard,[2] and, along with Samuel W. Soule, Carlos Glidden and John Pratt, has been contended to be one of the inventors of the first typewriter in the United States.[3][4][5] He was also a newspaper publisher and Wisconsin politician. In his time, Sholes went by the names C. Latham Sholes, Latham Sholes, or C. L. Sholes, but never "Christopher Sholes" or "Christopher L. Sholes".