• Alex Savin
• July 7, 2022
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History Of The Computer Keyboard

The history of the standard computer keyboard began much earlier than you might think. If we count the first printing devices, then their history started in the distant 1700s. Such machines allowed printing on upside-down pages, and the text could be seen after typing was completed. Since then, input device appearance and principles have changed several times dramatically. In this article, you will learn the detailed history of the computer keyboard and trace it from a huge device that barely fits into a room to a keyboard that does not even physically exist. It will be interesting!

From Typewriters To Keyboards

The history of the keyboards would be incomplete without mentioning the classic typewriters. It all started back in the 19th century with the advent of the conventional typewriter. In 1868, inventor Christopher Sholes introduced the world to the first typewriter in which the keys were arranged alphabetically. In practice, this turned out to be very inconvenient for typing, as the most used characters were in the most prominent places and vice versa. Therefore, already 20 years later, the QWERTY layout we know today was invented. These devices were made at the Remington factory and sewing machines on similar equipment, so the first typewriters were the size of a table and even had a foot pedal to control the carriage.

Path To Compactness

The sales pace did not satisfy the inventors, and they decided to sell the patent for $12,000 to Densmore and Yost. Master watchmaker Matthias Schwalbach got down to business, and soon the world saw the new model, Sholes & Glidden. The new line of printing presses removed the pedal and became desktop and almost portable.

Important step in history of the computer keyboard took place in at the end of the 19th century. The Bodo printing press replaced the conventional typewriter and telegraph. Its main difference was replacing a two-bit code (“dot-dash”) with a five-bit one, making it possible to put characters on paper instantly. However, the communication in such a machine was synchronous, and the telegraphist working behind it could press a specific button only after receiving the appropriate sound signal. And a few years later, in the 1920s, an asynchronous teletype appeared – the name translates as “printing at a distance.” The device did not require synchronous communication and allowed you to print anything anytime.

The Typewriter As We Know It

By 1910, almost all typewriters had acquired similar features, although they remained very weighty. Everything changed in 1961 with the advent of IBM.

IBM has made an evolutionary leap with its Selectric model. IBM Selectric typewriters were produced until 1980 and went through 3 generations (I, II, III). Here are a few key features that have made the Selectric popular:

• New technology uses balls with external symbols instead of metal bars.
• Since the balls were small, changing the font could easily be replaced by changing the balls.
• The typewriter has become compact enough for transportation.
• Models were released in several colors: vintage blue, dark green, bright red, beige, and black.

IBM typewriters and other devices of this type have been used for a long time and exist next to computer technology. Many writers and journalists preferred to use typewriters, although the time of personal computers had already come by that time. Typewriters are in demand even now. Many of us know people who still prefer cassette players or vinyl over digital media (they’d better not talk about streaming services at all). It is for people who love the smell of real paper books, the rustle of a vinyl record, and the tactile sensations of good old typing that typewriters will never stop producing.

The next part of the article is dedicated to all other users who enjoy everything modern technology offers. It’s about real computer keyboards.

The first computer keyboards

The evolution of the keyboard is connected with the development of computers themselves. The first computer was built in 1946 (ENIAC), and a mechanical teletype was used to interact with it. It worked as follows: using a teletype, holes were created in punched cards, then a deck of punched cards was immersed in a reader analyzing the cards on them.

In 1948, the next generation of computers (BINAC) used an electromagnetically controlled teleprinter to enter data and print the results. This principle marked the beginning of electronic keyboards. It happened in 1960 with the release of the capacitive keyboard. She worked on textolite boards and transmitted a stream of charged particles when the keys were pressed, which generated the code of the pressed button. This also facilitated entering text: the keys were pressed more easily than on a teletypewriter.

A little later, in 1965, the MULTICS computer was created by the efforts of Bell Labs and MIT. It used capacitive keyboards and was adapted to the video terminal display. Now, the characters the user entered were displayed on the screen, and the text could be instantly edited. By the late 1970s, all computers used this principle, which was the most efficient.

Until the 1980s, capacitive keyboards were ubiquitous in newer computer models. Interestingly, components such as a processor or RAM lined up precisely in the keyboard – that is, it was not only an input device but also the most important element of a PC.

History of the computer keyboard. Function Keys

In the 1970s and 1980s, additional function keys began to appear on keyboards, making them easier to use and speeding up many typing processes. For example, these keys include Alt, Control, Enter, and arrows – at first, they did not receive separate keys but were located on numbers. By the way, their appearance was due to the development of computer games that started at that time.

Keyboard as a separate device

It should be noted that in the same period, the functional components of the computer (processor, RAM, and so on) were no longer placed inside the keyboard but were taken to a separate case. Since then, the keyboard has become a full-fledged input device, connected to the computer by wire (via a Din-5 connector) and has 83 keys. At that time, there were no buttons like Caps Lock and Num Lock, and the existing function keys were located quite inconveniently. For example, Enter was somewhere in the corner and matched the size of the letter buttons.

A few years later, another key was added, the purpose of which was to change the layout from one language to another instantly. It also became possible to program the keyboard for your commands.

The advent of extended keyboards

IBM invented a new keyboard standard at the end of the 20th century with its legendary Model M. Now, the input device had 101 keys, arrows, and F1-F12 buttons, an enlarged Enter key, and duplicated Alt, Shift, and Control. And yet – it was connected to the computer via the new PS / 2 connector. In other words, the original format of the keyboards that we use today appeared.

First membrane keyboard

At the same time, companies thought about more economical production. So, the capacitive keyboard was replaced by a hard contact keyboard. Each key worked as an independent switch that transmitted electrical current to the microprocessor and then to the computer’s central processing unit in the form of a code. And the keys returned to their original state with the help of thin rubber pads instead of springs. This type of keyboard was quieter and weighed less, and most importantly, it was very cheap, albeit short-lived. This membrane technology is still used in many keyboards.

Also, one of the main features of hard contact keyboards was the presence of an additional plastic layer between the key and the rubber gasket. This layer became the first protection against liquid and pieces of food.

The appearance of the start button

And at the beginning of the 21st century, a multimedia keyboard was made. For the convenience of Windows users, convenient buttons appeared on it for managing the computer’s power, opening the “Start,” emulating the right mouse button, and controlling sound and video playback.

Modern keyboards

Thanks to the use of a membrane instead of mechanical elements, many types of keyboards have come into being: portable, palm-sized, waterproof, flexible, and rollable. We also have access to wireless, touch, and various non-standard or ergonomic input devices. All keyboards are divided into several main types, which differ in the principle of operation of the buttons:

• Membrane – the most affordable and popular type. This keyboard is equipped with switches with rubber or silicone gaskets, which makes it very quiet when used. But for the membrane keyboard to send a signal to the computer, any button on it must be pressed completely – if you lightly press the key, nothing will happen.
• Mechanical – a more expensive type of keyboard with the following technical feature: due to the design, the key does not need to be pressed down completely to give a signal (it is enough to reach half of its travel). Such keyboards are very convenient for games and fast touch typing.
• Combined – a special type that combines the main advantages of membrane and mechanical keyboards: relatively low cost, quiet operation, and fast response of the keys.

The development of input devices is actively continuing, so it’s too early to end history of the computer keyboard and draw any conclusions. Some input methods were well-known but did not develop in the end, such as a projection keyboard that could work on any flat surface. Most concepts do not survive mass production because they are not convenient.

History Of The Non-Physical Computer Keyboards

The most high-profile technological developments are associated with an attempt to remove the intermediary in the form of input devices between a person and a computer. Voice input is the first big technology to do this. Unfortunately, text dictation has not become popular for many reasons, and the usual keyboard remains much more convenient. Research is now being conducted that will help “communicate” with a computer with the help of thought. Perhaps this promising technology will eventually replace the classic keyboards if it is convenient enough and popular with users.

Timeline оf The history of the computer keyboard

• 1868 The First Remington’s TypeWriter.
• 1878 Christopher Latham Sholes patented the QWERTY layout.
• 1895 IBM developed Touchdown Keytop Overlays.
• 1910 Teletype Machine presented by Charles Krum.
• 1946 Eniac Computer Incorporated Key Punch Technology.
• 1948 Binac Computer Used Electromechanically Controlled Typewriter.
• 1955 MIT’s Whirlwind Computer Was The First With Direct Keyboard Input.
• 1965 MULTICS computers use new capacitive keyboards.
• 1884 Legendary Keyboard Model M by IBM.
• 2007 Apple introduced the screen Keyboard with iPhone.