The Sholes and Glidden typewriter was the first commercially successful typewriter. Principally designed by Christopher Latham Sholes, it was developed with the assistance of fellow printer Samuel W. Soule and amateur mechanic Carlos S. Glidden. After several short-lived attempts to manufacture the device, 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. The machine incorporated elements which became fundamental to typewriter design, including a cylindrical platen and a four-rowed QWERTY keyboard. Several design deficiencies remained, however. The Sholes and Glidden could print only upper-case letters—an issue remedied in its successor, the Remington No. 2—and was a "blind writer", meaning 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. Additionally, recipients of typewritten messages found the mechanical, all upper-case writing to be impersonal and even insulting. The new communication technologies and expanding businesses of the late 19th century, however, had created a need for expedient, legible correspondence, and so the Sholes and Glidden and its contemporaries soon became ubiquitous office fixtures.

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_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1284:

The Statute of Rhuddlan incorporated the Principality of Wales into England. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statute_of_Rhuddlan

1431:

Gabriel Condulmer became Pope Eugene IV , succeeding Martin V. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Eugene_IV

1585:

The Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza, Italy, a theatre designed by the Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio, was inaugurated. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teatro_Olimpico

1865:

The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation opened its doors, originally to help Hong Kong merchants finance the growing trade between China and Europe. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hongkong_and_Shanghai_Banking_Corporation

1991:

Motorist Rodney King was beaten by Los Angeles policemen, causing public outrage that increased tensions between the African American community and the police department over the issues of police brutality and social inequalities in the area. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodney_King

1997:

The Sky Tower in Auckland, the tallest free-standing structure in the Southern Hemisphere at 328 metres (1,080 ft), opened. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sky_Tower

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

augment (v): 1. To increase; to make larger or supplement. 2. (reflexive) To grow, increase, or become greater. 3. (music) To increase an interval by a half step (chromatic semitone) http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/augment

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

If there be such a thing as truth, it must infallibly be struck out by the collision of mind with mind. --William Godwin http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Godwin