Abstract: A keyboard for typewriters, word processors, computers, and the like, has a housing and a plurality of manually actuated keys secured to the housing including keys for each letter of the alphabet and a plurality of character keys. The keys are arranged in rows including a central home row, an upper row, and a lower row. The central home row has a first group of keys including the letters "E" and "A" arranged from left to right, the lower row has a second group of keys including the letters "I", "O" and "U" arranged from left to right, and the upper row has a third group of keys including the letters "S", "T" and "R" arranged from left to right. The central home row further has a fourth group of keys including two subsets, a first subset of keys including the letters "M" and "N" arranged from left to right and a second subset of keys including the letters "H" and "G" arranged from left to right.