From its 19th century inception in St. Louis to becoming a 20th century business icon, the story of the Burroughs adding machine intertwines determination, design and domination of an industry. Let‘s discuss the calculator that once clicked and clacked its way into accounting history!
Driven to Innovate: William S. Burroughs Identifies a Problem to Solve
The adding machine was conceived out of ambition by inventor William Seward Burroughs in 1885. But what drove him to dedicate years developing this complex mechanical device?
Burroughs was born in 1857 in Rochester, New York where his childhood was spent immersed in gadgets and machinery thanks to his father. However, William ended up pursuing a career in banking to placate his father‘s wishes despite having little interest himself.
After joining a bank in St. Louis in 1880, 23-year old Burroughs encountered the daily tedium of manually adding long columns of numbers. For hours clerks would calculates figures, tally ledgers and verify financial data. Burroughs thought there must be a better way and became determined to find a mechanical solution.
Having grown up around his father‘s machine shop, Burroughs loved to tinker and build innovations. He seized that inventive spirit and after five years at the bank, took a job at a local machinist shop instead. This gave him the environment, tools and peer collaborators needed to further his game-changing idea.
Early Development: Prototyping Begins
Now working in Joseph Boyer‘s machine shop in St. Louis with access to equipment and technical experts, Burroughs began developing adding machine prototypes around 1882.
Fellow inventor Frank Baldwin who worked on his own calculator provided insights. Burroughs iterated small movable parts like gears and levers to perform mathematical functions.
It took significant trial-and-error before Burroughs had a fully working demonstration model in 1884. The next year he filed a patent application for "Calculating-Machine" which was granted three years later in 1888 (US 388,116).
How The Innovative Mechanisms Worked
So how did these pioneering mechanical adding machines operate? Let‘s look at some of the internal mechanisms:
Key Press Accumulation
[diagram]Pressing a number key activates a series of gears and levers corresponding to the digit. Each key press rotates wheels connected to an accumulator dial to directly add the value entered.
Carry and Return
[diagram]If the sum exceeds 10 on a digit, a mechanical "carry" function shifts the excess properly to the next column. Pressing the CR handle resets all columns to zero.
Comparison of Early Adding Machine Models
| Year | Model | Capability | Cost | Units Sold |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Class 1 | Addition | $75 | 1,500 |
| 1910 | Class 2D | Addition/Subtraction | $100 | 4,800 |
| 1920 | Class 3 | Blind Addition | $125 | 9,100 |
This table shows the progression of adding machine capabilities from the first Class 1 model in 1900 to advanced Class 3 blind models costing $125 by 1920. Sales volume increased in line with more features provided.
Let‘s delve into the company history next…
Racing to Dominate the Industry
While Burroughs machines were not the very first calculators, they made mechanical adding accessible for businesses. The 1890 Clasa 1 model cost $475 – expensive but a worthwhile office investment.
Seeing growing opportunity, in 1905 William Burroughs expanded from a workshop to launch the Burroughs Adding Machine Company. By 1906 it dominated nearly 90% of the market!
Burroughs achieved this rapid rise by aggressively acquiring competitor patents and technologies before they had a chance to impact his business. He also bought out emerging calculator startups to eliminate rivals.
For example when a company called the Original Adding Machine Co. began selling devices, Burroughs assessed their superior "visible printer" design showing numbers as entered. He promptly negotiated to purchase rights to the patent and integrate it into his product line instead of competing.
Such cunning business maneuvers allowed Burroughs Corporation to establish a powerful monopoly within the adding machine industry by the early 1900s.
Legacy: From Mechanical Math to Computing Era
While primitive by today‘s standards, Burroughs machines were workhorses of commerce for decades in the mechanical age before electronics. The brand name became synonymous with adding machines which peaked in popularity in the 1920s and 30s.
The company adapted with the times, later expanding into typewriters and then computing. After mergers evolved the business into Unisys corporation today, Burroughs remains a revered pioneer brand in calculation history.
Indeed the clickety-clack cadence of an antique Burroughs adding machine still delights digit fanatics today. Collectors spend hundreds of dollars to restore these vintage devices. We can admire the groundbreaking innovation and business savvy that went into making Burroughs aTris calculator icon of yesteryear.
So there you have it – the complete illustrated history chronicling the ambitions of inventor William S. Burroughs as the driving force behind pioneering the Burroughs adding machine to dominate an industry! From technical mechanisms to marketplace maneuvers, it paved the way for future computing evolution.
