John Pratt (inventor)

John Jonathan Pratt (April 14, 1831 – 24/25 June 1905) was an American journalist and inventor, known for creating the Pterotype, one of the earliest typewriters.

Pratt was educated in South Carolina and graduated from Cokesbury College in 1849.

He devoted his time to inventing a typewriting machine, which he called the Ptérotype.

The invention received provisional protection from the British government in February 1864, and was awarded letters patent No.

Pratt's machine was covered in several journals, and one such description attracted the attention of Christopher Latham Sholes and Carlos Glidden, who went on to develop the Remington No.