Ottmar Mergenthaler facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ottmar Mergenthaler
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Ottmar Mergenthaler
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| Born | 11 May 1854 Hachtel, Kingdom of Württemberg
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| Died | 28 October 1899 (aged 45) Baltimore, Maryland, US
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| Nationality | German, American |
| Occupation | Inventor |
| Known for | Linotype |
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) |
| Awards | Elliott Cresson Medal (1889) John Scott Medal (1891) |
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Ottmar Mergenthaler (born May 11, 1854 – died October 28, 1899) was a brilliant German-American inventor. Many people called him a "second Gutenberg" because of his amazing invention: the linotype machine. This machine was the first device that could quickly and easily create full lines of metal type for printing presses. It completely changed how books and newspapers were printed.
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Who Was Ottmar Mergenthaler?
Ottmar Mergenthaler was born in a German town called Hachtel, in what was then the Kingdom of Württemberg. He was the third son of a school teacher.
When he was young, Ottmar trained to be a watchmaker. In 1872, he moved to the United States to work with his cousin, August Hahl, in Washington, D.C. Later, Ottmar moved with Hahl's workshop to Baltimore, Maryland. In 1878, he officially became a citizen of the United States. A few years later, in 1881, Ottmar became a business partner with his cousin.
How He Invented the Linotype
In 1876, a man named James O. Clephane and his partner needed a faster way to print legal briefs (important legal documents). They asked Ottmar for help. By 1884, Ottmar had a brilliant idea. He thought of a machine that could put together small metal molds, called matrices, and then pour hot, melted metal into them. This would create a whole line of type at once!
His first try showed that his idea could work. A new company was formed to support his invention. Ottmar kept working to make his machine even better.
In July 1886, the very first Linotype machine used for business was set up. It was installed in the office of the New York Tribune newspaper. It was immediately used to print the daily paper and a large book. This book, called The Tribune Book of Open-Air Sports, was the first book ever made using the new Linotype method. The Linotype machine, made by Ottmar's Mergenthaler Linotype Company, was a key part of the publishing world until the 1980s.
His Final Years
Ottmar Mergenthaler sadly passed away from tuberculosis in Baltimore in 1899.
Ottmar Mergenthaler's Legacy
You can see a working Linotype machine today at the Baltimore Museum of Industry. It is displayed in the museum's print shop.
A vocational high school in Baltimore, which opened in 1953, is named after him. It's called Mergenthaler Vocational Technical Senior High School, but people often just call it "MERVO."
Also, Mergenthaler Hall at Johns Hopkins University was built in the 1940s. It was made possible by donations from Ottmar Mergenthaler's son, Eugene, and his widow, Mrs. Ottmar Mergenthaler.
See also
- List of German inventors and discoverers
In Spanish: Ottmar Mergenthaler para niños
