BURROWS William Seward

BURROWS William Seward (Burroughs William Seward) (28 January 1855, Auburn, pc. New York - September 15, 1898, Sitronel, pc. Alabama), American inventor, creator of the first fountain counting machine, the founder of Burroughs.

Even in the age of fifteen, interrupted education, Burroughs began to earn a living. Ill with tuberculosis, he was forced to change the climate, and in 1881 he moved with his family in St. Louis (pc. Missouri). There Burrows began working in his father's shop, where models were made for the casting and simultaneously engaged in the development of various machines. During this time he decided to create a counting machine to speed up arithmetic. In 1885, using the financial help of a local factory owner, Thomas Metcalfe, Burrows, after several unsuccessful attempts to set up his summing machine. Entering data in the machine Burrows was carried out with the keyboard, but the result of calculations printed on paper tape. In 1886, Burrows, Metcalfe and two other businessmen from St. Louis was organized by American Arithmometer. Burroughs Adding machine, patented in 1892, was a great success, but Mr Burrows did not manage to take advantage of it. He died at the age of 41. For his invention for a year before his death, Burrows was awarded the John Scott medal Franklinovskogo Institute.

In 1905, the company American Arithmometer was transformed into a firm Burroughs Adding Machine, which later became one of the biggest companies producing data processing - from cash registers to powerful computers. In 1953, the company was renamed the Burroughs Corporation.

In 1986, Burroughs Corporation merged with Sperry, resulting in the company was formed Unisys.