The QWERTY Origin: Why Computer Keyboards Aren't Arranged Alphabetically

To understand why modern computer keyboards and smartphone touchscreens utilize the QWERTY layout, one must travel back to the late 1860s during the infancy of mechanical typing technology. In 1868, American inventor Christopher Latham Sholes, along with his business partners Samuel W. Soulé and Carlos Glidden, patented one of the earliest commercially successful mechanical typewriters. Sholes's initial prototype featured a physical keyboard layout arranged in strict alphabetical order across two rows, mimicking the familiar structure of dictionaries, typesetter cases, and traditional alphabet learning materials.