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William Seward Burroughs
Born Jan 28 1857 - Died Sep 14 1898

Calculating Machine
Calculator
Patent Number(s) 388,116

Inducted 1987

William Seward Burroughs invented the first practical adding and listing machine. Burroughs submitted a patent application in 1885 for his 'Calculating Machine' and the patent was awarded in 1888. In 1886 Burroughs and several St. Louis businessmenformed the American Arithmometer Co. to market the machine. The first machine, however, required a special knack in pulling the handle to execute the calculation correctly. More often than not novice users would get wildly differing sums depending on the vigor they employed in using the invention. In 1893 Burroughs received a patent for an improved calculating machine, which incorporated an oil-filled'dashpot,' a hydraulic governor. This device enabled the machine to operate properly regardless of the manner with which the handle might be pulled.

Invention Impact
Burroughs’ adding machine continually developed into more complex machines.  The Sensimatic could store up to twenty-seven balances during posting operations, and the Sensitronic stored balances on a magnetic stripe of the ledgercard.  Burroughs’ company mostly made calculators for banking systems, but when the company was renamed the Burroughs Corporation in 1953 it began moving into computers.  Burroughs Corporation was one of the major eight computer companies in the United States in the 1960s, and in 1986 it merged with Sperry Corporation to form Unisys. 

Inventor Bio

Born in Rochester, New York, Burroughsbegan his career as a bank clerk in the Cayuga County National Bank in Auburn, New York. His poor health necessitated a move to a warmer climate, however, and he relocated to St. Louis in 1882. Working in a bank inspired the young inventor with a vision of a mechanical device that would relieve accountants and bookkeepers of the monotony of their tasks and ensure that a smaller percentage of theirtime was spent correcting errors. Burroughs began work on his mechanical accounting device shortly after he moved to St. Louis. A sympathetic shop owner, Joseph Boyer, encouraged his work by giving him bench space at the Boyer Machine Shop and provided him with a young assistant, Alfred Doughty, later president of the Burroughs Adding Machine Company. Burroughs retired from his company in 1897 due topoor health and moved to Citronelle, Alabama. By 1898, the year Burroughs died, more than 1,000 machines had been sold, and by 1926 the company, renamed the Burroughs Adding Machine Company, had produced a million machines.

John Hays Hammond, Jr.
Born April 13 1888 - Died Feb 12 1965
System of Teledynamic Control
Patent No. 1,275,741
Inducted 2011
John Hays Hammond, Jr. became interestedin the new study of radio waves while studying at the Sheffield Scientific School of Yale University. After graduation from Yale in 1910, Hammond took a job at the U.S. Patent Office to learn what fields were at the forefront of innovation.
Invention Impact
At the same time, he founded the Hammond Radio Research Laboratory in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Knowing that the U.S. Navy was interestedin applying radio to warfare, Hammond began experimenting with radio-controlled devices. By 1914, he had laid the foundation for all subsequent radio remote control. In 1921, Hammond remotely controlled a battleship as it cruised Chesapeake Bay and went on to develop radio controlled torpedoes, missiles and other weapons. He also contributed to the development of automatic stabilization bygyroscopes, the automatic pilot, and the idea of having torpedoes and missiles detonate when they came within proximity of a target.
Inventor Bio
John Hays Hammond, Jr. was born in San Francisco, CA. He attended Yale University. Although he had inherited wealth, Hammond’s inventions brought him additional fortune. He built an actual castle to serve as his home, laboratory and showplace for his...