Information Transfer Exercise - The QWERTY Keyboard

Read the passage below and then show the life cycle of the typewriter by completing the
chart which follows.

The first typewriter patent was given by Queen Anne of England in 1714.
By 1808 in Italy, Pellegrino Turri had manufactured the first usable typewriter,
and by 1851 the first commercial machine had been manufactured. This meant
that for the first time, business documents could be typed instead of written by
hand. Around this time also, the QWERTY keyboard was introduced but only
with capital letters. In 1889 the first typewriter was produced which allowed the
typist to actually see what he/she was typing. By the end of the 19th century,
names such as Remington, Underwood and Smith had become famous as
typewriter manufacturers. During the early to middle part of the 20th century, the
typewriter was king among office machinery and in 1934 IBM produced the first
electric typewriter. In the 1960’s, the computer was introduced into business as
the “machine of the future, reducing the usefulness and popularity of the
typewriter. Today the typewriter has virtually gone out of use, swallowed up by
the computer. However the QWERTY typewriter keyboard has remained as a
piece of computer hardware.

1714

1808 Turri manufactured the first usable typewriter

1851

1851 QWERTY keyboard introduced

Remington, Underwood & Smith – famous

Early 20th century

First electric typewriter produced

1960s
Today