Wisconsin 101

OBJECT HISTORY: The Harley-Davidson V-Twin Engine

When Edward Pennington unveiled the first prototype for what he deemed the “motorcycle” in 1895, inspiration struck the minds of two Milwaukee natives, William Harley and Arthur Davidson. Joined by Arthur’s brother, Walter, the three began tinkering with two-wheelers and eventually designed…

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June 18, 2022

Milwaukee / Education / Milwaukee County / Science & Technology / Related Stories / 1848-1877 / 1877-1900 / Manufacturing & Trade / Region 7 - South Center / Sholes and Glidden Typewriter

Origins of the QWERTY Keyboard

Was QWERTY designed to slow down the typist, or was it a deliberate design for telegraphers?Christopher Latham Sholes's early typewriter models contained a keyboard that resembled a piano with an alphabetic arrangement of keys, with two rows which contained the letters of…

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September 22, 2021

Milwaukee / Education / Milwaukee County / Related Stories / 1848-1877 / Politics & Government / Region 8 - South East / Sholes and Glidden Typewriter

Christopher Latham Sholes

Christopher Latham Sholes worked with his brothers at a Green Bay newspaper after having completed a printing internship in 1837, and in 1840 he moved to Kenosha to serve as the owner and publisher of the Southport Telegraph for a number of…

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September 22, 2021

Education / Object Histories / Milwaukee County / Milwaukee / Wisconsin Made / 1848-1877 / 1877-1900 / Manufacturing & Trade / Region 8 - South East / Sholes and Glidden Typewriter

OBJECT HISTORY: Sholes & Glidden Typewriter

Christopher Latham Sholes (1819-1890) had a number of interests, one of which was spending time at Kleinsteuber’s Machine Shop in Milwaukee. While there, he met other tinkerers including Samuel Soule who was a printer by trade and Carlos Glidden who was a…

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September 22, 2021

Art, Sport & Entertainment / Milwaukee / Milwaukee County / Object Histories / Sports & Games / Ethnicity & Identity / Clothing, Apparel & Fashion / Curators' Favorites / Everyday Life / Global Connections / 1987-2011 / Region 8 - South East / Earlene Fuller's Bowling Shirt

OBJECT HISTORY: Earlene Fuller’s Bowling Shirt

This shirt, which features an African kente cloth print, was designed, made and worn in the mid-1990s by Milwaukee's Earlene Fuller, an African American bowler and seamstress.

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August 30, 2020

Art, Sport & Entertainment / Milwaukee County / Milwaukee / Ethnicity & Identity / Clothing, Apparel & Fashion / Related Stories / Sports & Games / Curators' Favorites / 1965-1987 / Region 8 - South East / Earlene Fuller's Bowling Shirt

Earlene Fuller and the African American Bowling Scene in Milwaukee

Earlene Fuller designed and made bowling outfits for numerous black and white teams in Milwaukee and elsewhere from 1970 through the mid-1990s. She was a member in two African American bowling organizations — the National Bowling Association and the Milwaukee Bowlers Guild, Inc. — and in the 1990s began incorporating kente cloth and other African-inspired fabric patterns into the shirts she made for her own teams.

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August 30, 2020