Why are keyboards not in alphabetical order?

The QWERTY keyboard layout was designed so that successive keystrokes would alternate sides of the keyboard so as to avoid jams in manual typewriters. Is frequently said that the design was also created to make people type slower.

First designs of manual typewriters using keyboards with letters on alphabetical order could not keep up with the speed of fast typers and the QWERTY keyboard layout was designed to reduce jamming.

Later, a layout called Dvorak was introduced to allow faster typing and reduce fatigue but has never got widespread use.

The QWERTY keyboard layout survived the era of electrical typewriters and the digital age because it was the first standard design. Being first counts.