Mergenthaler House - Baltimore MD
Posted by: 
Don.Morfe
N 39° 18.367 W 076° 37.372
18S E 360076 N 4352003
Ottmar Mergenthaler, a German immigrant revolutionized the art of printing with his invention of the Linotype. He lived at 159 W Lanvale Street, Baltimore from 1894 to 1899. He died on October 28,1899.
Waymark Code: WM17CD7
Location: Maryland, United States
Date Posted: 01/25/2023
Views: 1
THE PLACE:
Ottmar Mergenthaler lived at 159 W. Lanvale Street, Baltimore from 1894 to 1899. The Mergenthaler House was built in 1874-1875 by Joseph S. Hopkins, nephew of the noted philanthropist, Johns Hopkins. The Otto Merganthaler Rowhouse is a contributing building in the Bolton Hill Historic District, National Register of Historic Places.
THE PERSON:
Ottmar Mergenthaler (11 May 1854 – 28 October 1899) was a German immigrant who revolutionized the art of printing with his invention of the Linotype. Previously a typesetter searched for a single character, then placed it in a line for printing; Mergenthaler’s machine enabled him to assemble and cast an entire line of type in a matter of seconds.
His machine was patented in 1884, but his first commercial demonstraion did not occur until two years later in the composing room of the New York Tribune.
By 1900, there were 8,000 linotype machines in newspaper plants across the nation; by 1970, there were more than 200,000 worldwide. It has been estimated that until the recent developments in cold type processes, the Linotype machine, or its descendants, set 80% of all the text read in the world.
Year it was dedicated: 1884
Location of Coordinates: Building Entrance
Related Web address (if available): [Web Link]
Type of place/structure you are waymarking: Building
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