Around the world today, most people type on keyboards that got their start in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1873, where the first commercially successful typewriter was born. For more than 150 years, that typewriter's QWERTY keyboard has remained remarkably intact, through decades of mechanical typewriters, electric typewriters, computers, and even touch screens today. Over the coming years, this site will attempt to archive the rich history of QWERTY from the earliest days to the present, from the original inventors to modern users, and from Kenosha to Calcutta. With historical documents, photographs, links to other archives, oral histories, maps, and more, it aims to chart the full breadth and depth of the world of modern writing that  we call the "Qwertyverse." Come explore. 

Learn more about our collaborators, QWERTYFEST MKE.