Thomas Hall (February 4, 1834 – November 19, 1911) was a nineteenth century American engineer, mechanic, and inventor. In the field of mechanical engineering he first turned to inventing improved and specialized sewing machines. This led him to inventing enhanced typewriters, especially portable ones. Although he built prototypes in the 1860s, it was not until 1881 that he was ready to manufacture the Hall Typewriter, put it on the market, and sell to the public. This was the first portable typewriter and the world's first "laptop" since the machine could be used on one's lap. These portable typewriters were manufactured for twenty years in New York City, Boston, and Salem, Massachusetts. The printing mechanism was built into a wooden carrying case and the compact light-weight portable typ