science · 03 July 1886 · 138 years ago
In 1886, the first U.S. newspaper page set by Linotype was the New York Daily Tribune for this day's editorial page. Ottmar Mergenthaler (born in Württemberg, Germany on 11 May 1854) had produced the world's first linecasting machine; the time-consuming process of setting type by hand was eliminated. The machine was originally called "Blower" and later renamed "Linotype" (short for "Line of type"). Within six years of this day's demonstration, 1,000 Linotype machines had been made. By 1904, worldwide there were 10,000 Linotype casting machines in service.
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