Ottmar Mergenthaler (11 May 1854 – 28 October 1899) was a German-American

inventor An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...

who has been called a second Gutenberg, as Mergenthaler invented the linotype machine, the first device that could easily and quickly set complete lines of

type Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * Ty ...

for use in

printing press A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a printing, print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in wh ...

es. This machine revolutionized the art of printing.

Life and career

Mergenthaler was born into a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

family in Hachtel,

Kingdom of Württemberg The Kingdom of Württemberg (german: Königreich Württemberg ) was a German state that existed from 1805 to 1918, located within the area that is now Baden-Württemberg. The kingdom was a continuation of the Duchy of Württemberg, which exist ...

. He was the third son of a school teacher, Johann Georg Mergenthaler, from

Hohenacker Hohenacker, once a town, is now part of Waiblingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, ...

near the city of

Waiblingen Waiblingen (; Swabian: ''Woeblinge'') is a town in the southwest of Germany, located in the center of the densely populated Stuttgart region, directly neighboring Stuttgart. It is the capital and largest city of the Rems-Murr district. , Waibli ...

. He was apprenticed to a watchmaker in

Bietigheim Bietigheim is a village in the district of Rastatt in Baden-Württemberg in Southwestern Germany. It is located east of the Rhine river and thus the border to France, west of the Black Forest (more precisely the Northern Black Forest), south of ...

before emigrating to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in 1872 to work with his cousin August Hahl in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Mergenthaler eventually moved with Hahl's shop to

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. In 1878, Mergenthaler became a naturalized citizen of the United States. In 1881, Mergenthaler became Hahl's business partner.

Invention of the Linotype

In 1876, Mergenthaler was approached by

James O. Clephane James Ogilvie Clephane (February 21, 1842 – November 30, 1910) was an American inventor, bar-admitted stenographer who served in Abraham Lincoln's cabinet, and venture capitalist in both Washington, D.C. and New York City. He was involved ...

and his associate Charles T. Moore, who sought a quicker way of publishing

legal brief A brief (Old French from Latin "''brevis''", short) is a written legal document used in various legal adversarial systems that is presented to a court arguing why one party to a particular case should prevail. In England and Wales (and other Comm ...

s. By 1884 he conceived the idea of assembling metallic letter molds, called ''matrices'', and casting molten metal into them, all within a single machine.''

The World Book Encyclopedia The ''World Book Encyclopedia'' is an American encyclopedia. The encyclopedia is designed to cover major areas of knowledge uniformly, but it shows particular strength in scientific, technical, historical and medical subjects. ''World Book'' wa ...

'', 1972 edition. His first attempt proved the idea feasible, and a new company was formed. Always improving his invention, Mergenthaler further developed his idea of an independent matrix machine. In July 1886, the first commercially used Linotype was installed in the printing office of the

New York Tribune The ''New-York Tribune'' was an American newspaper founded in 1841 by editor Horace Greeley. It bore the moniker ''New-York Daily Tribune'' from 1842 to 1866 before returning to its original name. From the 1840s through the 1860s it was the domi ...

. Here it was immediately used on the daily paper and a large book. The book, the first ever composed with the new Linotype method, was titled, ''The Tribune Book of Open-Air Sports''. Produced by his

Mergenthaler Linotype Company The Mergenthaler Linotype Company is a corporation founded in the United States in 1886 to market the Linotype machine (), a system to cast metal type in lines (linecaster) invented by Ottmar Mergenthaler. It became the world's leading manufacture ...

, the machine remained a mainstay of the publishing industry until the 1980s.

Death

Mergenthaler died of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

in Baltimore in 1899.

Legacy

An operational Linotype machine is on display at the

Baltimore Museum of Industry Baltimore Museum of Industry is a museum in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Located in an old cannery, the museum has exhibits on various types of manufacturing and industry from the early 20th century. There are several hands-on sections with ...

, in the museum's print shop. Baltimore's vocational high school,

Mergenthaler Vocational Technical Senior High School Mergenthaler Vocational-Technical High School (commonly referred to as "Mervo" or "MerVo-Tech") is a public high school in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. It is one of the two premiere vocational-technical high schools of the city, the other b ...

, which opened in 1953, is named after him, although it is commonly referred to simply as "MERVO". Mergenthaler Hall on the Homewood Campus of the

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

was constructed in 1940–41 with donations by Eugene and Mrs. Ottmar Mergenthaler, son and widow of Ottmar Mergenthaler.

References

External links