Christopher Sholes, the inventor of the typewriter, was born on this day in 1819.

Did you know that:

• Cyrus McCormick, inventor of the first commercial mechanical reaper, was born on this day in 1809
• William Henry Preece, a Welsh electrical engineer and inventor, was born on this day in 1834
• Willem Kolff received a patent for the soft shell, mushroom-shaped artificial heart on this day in 1972