Google Doodle Celebrates Oskar Picht's Legacy in Typewriter and Braille Innovations

Today’s Google Doodle marks the 123rd birthday of Oskar Picht, a notable engineer and inventor. Born in Karlsruhe, Germany in 1899, Picht is celebrated for his work on the typewriter. He studied at the Technical University of Munich and earned a doctorate in mechanical engineering in 1924.

After his studies, Picht worked with several companies, including Wanderer Werke AG. Here, he helped create the first portable typewriter. In 1929, he moved to the United States and joined the American Typewriter Company. He quickly became the chief engineer.

In 1932, Picht invented the first electric typewriter called "Electromatic." This invention was a big success and changed the typewriter industry. Throughout his career, he continued to improve typewriters and invented other devices like a dictating machine and a copying machine.

Picht passed away in 1982 at the age of 83. His work made typewriters more portable and efficient. He also played a role in changing how people work. On this day in 1907, he received a gold medal at the International Typewriter Exhibition in Venice for his achievements.

Picht was born in Hamburg, Germany in 1871. After school, he became a teacher and developed an interest in blind education. He studied at the State Institute for the Blind in Berlin-Steglitz for two years to learn more about this field.

In 1899, Picht developed his first braille writer and received a patent for it in 1901. After many improvements, he got another patent for it in 1932. The new machine had six keys that could make different dot patterns on paper.

Apart from inventing, Picht supported blind education throughout his life. He served as director for both the Blind Institution in Bromberg from 1910 to 1912 and his alma mater from 1920 to 1933. He was also the first to give a radio lecture about the blind.

Picht dedicated his life to ensuring that blind people had access to quality education and modern technology. His efforts aimed at providing equal opportunities for them.