"More books --- more education for all. At home we had no money for school books..." This was the vision of a man who revolutionized printing during the Industrial Revolution. | Ottmar Mergenthaler was born in Hachtel, Germany on May 11th 1854 to Johann Georg Mergenthaler and Rosina Ackerman. Johann was a poor village school teacher, and Rosina came from a family of teachers. Ottmar was their third child. Young Ottmar did a lot to help with chores, cooking meals and feeding his family’s livestock. As his fourteenth birthday drew closer, he realized that following in his family’s footsteps and becoming a teacher, as he was expected to do, was not the career he wanted. Alternative options were considered, and his family decided that he should pursue what he excelled in. Given that he had fixed the Lutheran church’s tower clock in his village and was handy with tools, machinery seemed to be the best choice. He was soon apprenticed to his uncle, Mr. Hahl, a watchmaker. Ottmar stayed with his uncle for four years, learning new skills and building his knowledge of complex machinery. He greatly enjoyed his time there with his uncle and the other apprentices. As soon as he turned eighteen and completed his apprenticeship, he travelled to Washington D.C. He arrived on Oct. 26, 1872, and immediately found work in a shop owned by his cousin August Hahl, the son of his former master and uncle. After working together for a few years, they moved business to Baltimore and opened a shop that built models for people looking to gain a patent for their ideas. One such client, Charles T. Moore, believed his invention would revolutionize type. Mergenthaler found many flaws with Moore’s “transfer typewriter” design and decided to make his own. This began the development of what would eventually be Mergenthaler’s claim to fame- the linotype line casting machine. Despite setbacks such as a fire that destroyed many of his files and unsatisfactory machines, Mergenthaler debuted his "Blower" model linotype machine in 1885, and this model was used by the New York Tribune in 1886. Ottmar Mergenthaler & Co. was soon established to continue producing these machines, but Ottmar continued to dream. In 1892, a new and improved model called the Simplex Linotype Model 1 was built, and it was a hit at the Chicago World's Fair the following year. Unfortunately, Ottmar did not have long to enjoy his success. Two years later, Ottmar was struck with tuberculosis. He died in Baltimore on October 28th, 1899 at the age of 45. He left behind Emma Lachenmayer, whom he had married in 1881, and their four children. However, he also left behind a legacy; Ottmar Mergenthaler's linotype machine revolutionized printing and thus the distribution of information during the Industrial Revolution, and the impacts of his invention are still felt today. |