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Achievement
Founds NCR
Biography
John Henry Patterson (December 13, 1844-May 14, 1922) was an industrialist
and founder of the National Cash Register Company. He was a business
innovator, sales genius, social progressive, patriot, and benevolent
tyrant.
Based on a 16-page handbook written by his brother-in-law, Patterson
established the world's first sales training school on the grounds
of the NCR factory campus (at Sugar Camp in Dayton, Ohio).
In 1893 he constructed the first "daylight factory" buildings
with floor to ceiling glass windows that let in light and could be
opened to let in fresh air as well. This was in an era when "sweatshops" were
still in operation elsewhere. He hired John Charles Olmstead to landscape
the grounds of the National Cash Register Company campus in Dayton,
with spacious lawns and landscaping with colorful plantings. Olmstead
also had a hand in designing the residential community surrounding
the plant (South Park) as well as a park system for the City of Dayton.
He lived in his Swiss chalet estate "The Far Hills" in
Oakwood, Montgomery County, Ohio. He is considered the father of
Oakwood.
Patterson was something of a health fanatic, and adopted one regimen
after another, most of which were required of his executives and
employees.
He was famous for hiring and firing Thomas Watson Sr, who went on
to found IBM. In fact, "John H." was famous for firing
many people on rather trivial grounds, for example, if they couldn't
tell him why the flags happened to be flying that day or for not
riding a horse properly.
Watson's stint at NCR shaped him and helped him build the power
of IBM. Both Patterson and Watson were sentenced to one year imprisonment
for unfair business practices, later overturned by appeal. Meanwhile,
both Patterson and Watson had been pardoned by President Woodrow
Wilson as a result of their leadership roles in dealing with the
Dayton 1913 flood.
Patterson's methods influenced United States business for a generation.
In the period 1910-1930 it was estimated that one-sixth of United
States business executives were former NCR executives.
When he died in 1922, unlike his contemporaries, he left no great
fortune because of his expeditures on social programs at the Cash,
and because he believed that "shrouds have no pockets." He
left ownership of the company to his son Frederick Beck Patterson
who took it public in 1925. $55 million in stock was offered to the
public in what was the largest business public offering up to that
time.
John Henry Patterson is interred in the Woodland Cemetery, Dayton,
Ohio.
Chronology
1951 published "The Preparation of Programs for
an Electronic Digital Computer";
Ph.D. in computer science at Cambridge UK
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Quotation:(A "famous" quotation
from or about this pioneer -- optional)
Honors and awards
1975 A. M. Turing Award for
his work on computer science.
Bibliography
1977 Models
of Bounded Rationality
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