Standard Adding Machine Company
Encyclopedia
Standard Adding Machine Company was founded in the early 1900s and was the first company to release a 10-key adding machine
. The machine was a breakthrough for its time because it dramatically modernized computing. Earlier key driven adding machines, like the comptometer
, featured eight or more columns of nine keys, which made them cumbersome and costly and their operators prone to mistakes. The 10 keys were set on a single row.
The invention won an international grand prize during the 1904 World's Fair and was heralded as a "modern life preserver" in an office journal.
The Standard Adding Machine Company released the first 10-key adding machine in between 1901 and 1903. William Hopkins filed his first patent on October 4, 1892.
Hopkins' success led to competition. By 1915, other adding machine companies were vying for business. In 1916, Hopkins died, and his company began to decline.
Standard Adding Machine closed in 1921. In the decades since, the building housed businesses such as St. Louis Pump & Equipment Co., Lee Paper Co., and most recently, Harrison-Williams Store Fixtures. Vacant since 2003, the building was renovated in 2005 by Aquinas Institute of Theology
.
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Adding machine
An adding machine was a class of mechanical calculator, usually specialized for bookkeeping calculations.In the United States, the earliest adding machines were usually built to read in dollars and cents. Adding machines were ubiquitous office equipment until they were phased out in favor of...
. The machine was a breakthrough for its time because it dramatically modernized computing. Earlier key driven adding machines, like the comptometer
Comptometer
The comptometer was the first commercially successful key-driven mechanical calculator, patented in the USA by Dorr E. Felt in 1887.A key-driven calculator is extremely fast because each key adds or subtracts its value to the accumulator as soon as it is pressed and a skilled operator can enter all...
, featured eight or more columns of nine keys, which made them cumbersome and costly and their operators prone to mistakes. The 10 keys were set on a single row.
The invention won an international grand prize during the 1904 World's Fair and was heralded as a "modern life preserver" in an office journal.
History
William H. Hopkins, the inventor of the Standard Adding Machine, was a minister. When he moved to St. Louis in 1885 he served as chaplain and then pastor of St. Louis Second Christian Church. He continued to invent during those years and to find better ways to make an adding machine. In the 1890s, he left Second Christian Church and became assistant editor of the company that published The Christian Evangelist.The Standard Adding Machine Company released the first 10-key adding machine in between 1901 and 1903. William Hopkins filed his first patent on October 4, 1892.
Hopkins' success led to competition. By 1915, other adding machine companies were vying for business. In 1916, Hopkins died, and his company began to decline.
Standard Adding Machine closed in 1921. In the decades since, the building housed businesses such as St. Louis Pump & Equipment Co., Lee Paper Co., and most recently, Harrison-Williams Store Fixtures. Vacant since 2003, the building was renovated in 2005 by Aquinas Institute of Theology
Aquinas Institute of Theology
Aquinas Institute of Theology is a Roman Catholic graduate school and seminary in St. Louis, Missouri. It was founded by the Dominican Order and sponsored by the Province of St...
.
Recognition
Because of the historical significance of the adding machine, the Standard Adding Machine building is listed on the National Register of Historic PlacesNational Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
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External links
- rechenmaschinen-illustrated.com Picture of an early Standard machine.
- Announcements and actions on properties for the National Register of Historic Places Retrieved 12/15/2010.