Ottmar MergenthalerBorn 11 May 1854; died 28 Oct 1899 at age 45.German-American inventor of the Linotype typesetting machine (1886), regarded as the greatest advance in printing since the development of moveable type 400 years earlier. He moved to the U.S. in 1872. At the age of 32, he designed and built his first linotype machine. With it, the two operations of setting and casting type in lead lines were performed simply by touching the keys of a board similar to the keyboard of a typewriter. His machine enabled one operator to be machinist, type-setter, justifier and typefounder. His machine was first used in 1886 by the New York Tribune newspaper, followed by many great improvements on its design. He died at the early age of 45. |
