The Cincinnati 1888 Typing Contest — When Touch Typing Was Born
July 25, 1888, Cincinnati, Ohio. A typing contest between two men decisively proved touch typing's superiority to hunt-and-peck. The winner, Frank McGurrin, became the father of modern typing technique. The loser, Louis Taub, became history's most consequential cautionary tale about technique.
The setup
Why a contest?
- Typewriter manufacturers wanted publicity
- No consensus on proper typing technique
- Curiosity about maximum human typing speed
The challengers
Frank Edward McGurrin (1858-1933)
- Court reporter from Salt Lake City, Utah
- Self-taught 10-finger touch typing in 1878
- Practiced ~10 years before contest
- Memorized keyboard — typed without looking
Louis Taub
- Cincinnati-based typing instructor
- Used hunt-and-peck with 4 fingers total
- Looked at keyboard constantly
- Considered top hunt-and-peck typist of his time
The prize
- $500 (~$15,000 in 2026 dollars)
- Major publicity for winner
- Career impact either way
The contest format
Multiple rounds
- Speed dictation (with someone reading)
- Copy work (transcribing text)
- 5 hours total of competition
Specific challenges
- Difficult material (legal documents)
- Various text types
- Long sustained sessions
Equipment
- Both used same model typewriters (Remington Standard No. 2)
- No mechanical advantage
- Pure technique competition
The result
McGurrin won decisively.
Speed comparison
- McGurrin: ~95 WPM sustained on dictation
- Taub: ~62 WPM sustained
- McGurrin ~50% faster
Accuracy comparison
- McGurrin: very high accuracy
- Taub: more errors despite slower speed
- McGurrin won on both metrics
Sustained pace
- Touch typing pace held steady
- Hunt-and-peck pace degraded over hours
Impact on history
Immediate consequences
- National news coverage
- Touch typing became "the way"
- McGurrin became typing celebrity
Long-term consequences
- Schools adopted touch typing instruction
- Manufacturers promoted technique
- Touch typing became standard worldwide
McGurrin's life after
- Taught typing classes
- Wrote typing instruction books
- Married into Mormon community in Utah
- Died 1933 with technique firmly established
Taub's life after
- Less documented
- Career as instructor likely continued
- Historical footnote
Why it mattered
Proved technique > effort
- McGurrin had method advantage, not necessarily talent
- Touch typing learnable by anyone
- Investment in technique pays back
Established 10-finger touch typing as standard
- All future typing instruction based on this
- Norm for 130+ years
Showed sustained vs burst speed difference
- Touch typing's endurance advantage clear over hours
- Lesson still relevant today
Modern relevance
The same principle applies
- 80 WPM touch typist beats 50 WPM hunt-and-peck every time
- Sustained productivity matters more than burst
- Technique learnable with daily practice
Touch typing curriculum
- McGurrin's basic principles still taught
- 10-finger assignment, home row, eyes-on-content
- 130+ years of educational continuity
The "old" McGurrin techniques still used
Home row anchoring
- Fingers always return to ASDF JKL;
- F and J as landmarks
- Spatial map of keyboard
Eyes never leave page
- (Originally: page → typewriter)
- (Today: screen → keyboard never)
10-finger assignment
- Each finger has zone
- No "favoring" certain fingers
- Mathematical efficiency
Legacy
Touch typing as civic skill
- Now taught in schools globally
- Standard educational expectation
- Often part of computer literacy
McGurrin's place in history
- Father of modern touch typing
- Less famous than QWERTY's Sholes
- Equally important to current typing practice
Taub's redemption
- His loss enabled touch typing's rise
- Without contrast, touch typing might not have been demonstrated so clearly
Frequently Asked Questions
Was Taub actually slow?
Not slow for hunt-and-peck. Just slower than touch typing.
Was McGurrin's technique identical to modern touch typing?
Very similar. Some refinements over 130+ years but core same.
Why isn't McGurrin more famous?
Lacks the patent-holder mystique of Sholes. Just a court reporter who demonstrated.
Did the contest happen exactly as described?
Yes — well-documented in period newspapers and typing histories.
Could you reproduce McGurrin's speed today?
YES — many touch typists exceed 95 WPM. Modern keyboards lighter than typewriters.
Best dramatization?
Various typing history books cover it. Sometimes featured in PBS documentaries.
You're a descendant of McGurrin
Every touch typist owes their technique lineage to Frank McGurrin. Typing Hero App — continue the 130+ year tradition.
For more: The history of touch typing, QWERTY history, 10 famous fast typists.