Ottmar Mergenthaler - Definition and Overview

Ottmar Mergenthaler (May 10, 1854 - October 28, 1899) was a German inventor.

He was born in Hachtel, Württemberg, Germany, the third son of a school teacher and apprenticed to a watchmaker before moving to Baltimore, Maryland, USA in 1872. He invented the linotype in 1886, a machine that allowed an operator to automatically set type, which revolutionized the printing industry. He died of tuberculosis in Baltimore in 1899.

A building is named after him at Johns Hopkins University, as well as a high school in Baltimore.

External links

• http://www.cazoo.org/library/OttmarMergenthaler.html
• Metal Type - For Those who Remember Hot Metal Typesetting (http://www.metaltype.co.uk)