inventor - Austria / II. Republic of Austria 2017 - 80 Euro Cent

Peter Mitterhofer was born in 1822 in Partschins in South Tyrol. After learning carpentry and carpentry in his father's workshop, he set off for the "Walz" - the journey of young craftsmen - and for many years toured Austria, Germany, France and Switzerland. Along the way, he not only expanded his expertise, but also benefited from his musical talent. Around 1860 Mitterhofer returned to his homeland and worked there as a carpenter and carpenter. His curious inventions and ideas made him appear as a nerd to many, and his entertaining musical performances also repeatedly led to conflicts with the village pastor. In 1862 he married Marie Steidl and took over the carpentry, which the widow brought into the marriage. Until his death in 1893 - a year after the death of his wife - Mitterhofer lived in a small farmhouse in his native Parcines. In the period from 1864 to 1869 Mitterhofer constructed five typewriters, four of which are still preserved. The first two models were still mainly made of wood, the others were made of metal for type printing. The motif on the special stamp, the model "Vienna" from 1864, can be seen today in the Technisches Museum in Vienna. The last typewriter from 1869 already has automatic linefeed and can represent uppercase and lowercase letters as well as special characters. Like many other innovative minds, Mitterhofer, who invented a washing machine, a portable wheelbarrow and many other implements, failed to acknowledge his actions during his lifetime. His gravestone adorns the saying "The others who learned from him were allowed to reap the fruits of his talent".