The "qwerty" keyboard was used on the first typewriters in the 1870s to actually slow the typist down, and prevent "jamming" of the keys, since these first machines were slower than the more modern ones.  It became universal on just about every keyboard in the English language, and remains so to this day.  There was an attempt in 1936 to streamline typing by arranging the keys according to how often they were used.  This was known as the "Dvorak" keyboard.  By the time this keyboard was patented, there were so many 'qwerty" typewriters out there that there just wasn't a demand for it.  And those few who learned on the "dvorak" machines could only use "dvorak" machines.  To say the least, it was never widely used.  In fact, Dr. August Dvorak had this to say:  "Changing the keyboard format was like proposing to "reverse the Ten Commandments and the Golden Rule, discard every moral principle, and ridicule motherhood!"  Until I can upload pictures (I'm researching my options in this department at the moment), you can google the Dvorak keyboard to see its layout.