Inventor, Musician. Born in Glasgow, Scotland, he emigrated to the Uniontown, Ohio, with his family in 1859. He played the organ in the Reformed Church there and had ambitions of being a concert pianist. In 1864, he enlisted in the 115th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Union Army, served in the Civil War and was seriously wounded. He convalesced in a hospital in Nashville and when he would walk down town to repair nicolodeons, pianos and music boxes in a music store. After the war, he enrolled in the Adrian Academy of Music in Michigan, but a doctor in Adrian suggested that the injuries he sustained in the war would make it impossible to pursue the concert piano. Still interested in pursuing piano venues, he succeeded in producing the first roller paper player piano player in 1876. In 1881, he received the patent for his invention which went into manufacture and successful production distribution world wide. He also created a voting machine with a similar paper punch device as the paper roll on the player piano with a punch-card for voting machines, which are still used widely today. He died in Stamford, Connecticut.
Inventor, Musician. Born in Glasgow, Scotland, he emigrated to the Uniontown, Ohio, with his family in 1859. He played the organ in the Reformed Church there and had ambitions of being a concert pianist. In 1864, he enlisted in the 115th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Union Army, served in the Civil War and was seriously wounded. He convalesced in a hospital in Nashville and when he would walk down town to repair nicolodeons, pianos and music boxes in a music store. After the war, he enrolled in the Adrian Academy of Music in Michigan, but a doctor in Adrian suggested that the injuries he sustained in the war would make it impossible to pursue the concert piano. Still interested in pursuing piano venues, he succeeded in producing the first roller paper player piano player in 1876. In 1881, he received the patent for his invention which went into manufacture and successful production distribution world wide. He also created a voting machine with a similar paper punch device as the paper roll on the player piano with a punch-card for voting machines, which are still used widely today. He died in Stamford, Connecticut.
Bio by: John "J-Cat" Griffith
Inscription
INVENTOR OF THE
PLAYER PIANO
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