Dorr Felt
Encyclopedia
Dorr Eugene Felt was an American
inventor and industrialist who was known for having invented the Comptometer
, an early computing device, and the Comptograph, the first printing adding machine.
The Felt & Tarrant Manufacturing Company that he co-founded with Robert Tarrant on January 25, 1889 remained a major player in the calculator industry until the mid 1970s.
where he grew up on the family farm and which he left at age 14 to seek employment.
At 16, "his bent of mind, leaning towards mechanics, led him to seek work in a machine shop in Beloit
where he found his first employment in the spring of 1878."
At 18, he started to learn French and eventually spoke it fluently.
In early 1882, at age 20, he came to Chicago
and worked as foreman of a rolling mill that had a daily output valued at $2,000.
During the US Thanksgiving holidays of 1884 he decided to build the prototype of a new calculating machine that he had invented. Because of his limited amount of money, he used a macaroni box for the outside box, and skewers, staples and rubber bands for the mechanism inside. It was finished soon after New Year's Day, 1885.
Felt brought his idea to Chicago
businessman Robert Tarrant. They signed a partnership contract on November 28, 1887, and incorporated the Felt & Tarrant Manufacturing Company on January 25, 1889. Felt later went on to invent more devices and acquired 46 domestic patents and 25 foreign ones. The original macaroni box prototype and the first Comptograph ever sold are now part of the Smithsonian Museum collection of antique calculators.
Felt was awarded the John Scott Medal of The Franklin Institute in 1889.
He was married to Agnes McNulty in 1891 and the couple had four daughters together.
Dorr Felt also was the first ambassador for the Department of Commerce formed to study labor abroad after World War I
. He was an excellent photographer, and many of his war-time and post-war time photos were used by the government. Dorr traveled the world and loved learning.
He made his home in Chicago
and summered in Laketown Township, Michigan
, where the Felt Mansion is a well-known historic site.
Dorr E. Felt died of a stroke in Chicago on August 7, 1930. He was 68 years old.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
inventor and industrialist who was known for having invented 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...
, an early computing device, and the Comptograph, the first printing adding machine.
The Felt & Tarrant Manufacturing Company that he co-founded with Robert Tarrant on January 25, 1889 remained a major player in the calculator industry until the mid 1970s.
Biography
Dorr E. Felt was born in Newark, WisconsinNewark, Wisconsin
Newark is a town in Rock County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,571 at the 2000 census. The unincorporated community of Newark is located in the town.-Geography:...
where he grew up on the family farm and which he left at age 14 to seek employment.
At 16, "his bent of mind, leaning towards mechanics, led him to seek work in a machine shop in Beloit
Beloit, Wisconsin
Beloit is a city in Rock County, Wisconsin, United States. As of the 2010 census, Beloit had a population of 36,966. The greater Beloit area is home to more than 91,000 residents.-Claim to fame:...
where he found his first employment in the spring of 1878."
At 18, he started to learn French and eventually spoke it fluently.
In early 1882, at age 20, he came to Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
and worked as foreman of a rolling mill that had a daily output valued at $2,000.
During the US Thanksgiving holidays of 1884 he decided to build the prototype of a new calculating machine that he had invented. Because of his limited amount of money, he used a macaroni box for the outside box, and skewers, staples and rubber bands for the mechanism inside. It was finished soon after New Year's Day, 1885.
Felt brought his idea to Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
businessman Robert Tarrant. They signed a partnership contract on November 28, 1887, and incorporated the Felt & Tarrant Manufacturing Company on January 25, 1889. Felt later went on to invent more devices and acquired 46 domestic patents and 25 foreign ones. The original macaroni box prototype and the first Comptograph ever sold are now part of the Smithsonian Museum collection of antique calculators.
Felt was awarded the John Scott Medal of The Franklin Institute in 1889.
He was married to Agnes McNulty in 1891 and the couple had four daughters together.
Dorr Felt also was the first ambassador for the Department of Commerce formed to study labor abroad after World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. He was an excellent photographer, and many of his war-time and post-war time photos were used by the government. Dorr traveled the world and loved learning.
He made his home in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
and summered in Laketown Township, Michigan
Laketown Township, Michigan
Laketown Township is a civil township of Allegan County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 5,561 at the 2000 census. As of 2006, the population was at 5,994.-Communities:...
, where the Felt Mansion is a well-known historic site.
Dorr E. Felt died of a stroke in Chicago on August 7, 1930. He was 68 years old.
Biographies
- W.W. Johnson, "Scars on My Hands: The Life of Dorr Eugene Felt, Inventor and Industrialist," (unpublished), Schmidt Collection, Mathematics, NMAHNational Museum of American HistoryThe National Museum of American History: Kenneth E. Behring Center collects, preserves and displays the heritage of the United States in the areas of social, political, cultural, scientific and military history. Among the items on display are the original Star-Spangled Banner and Archie Bunker's...
. - Comptometer website
- World of Computer Science
- 1918 Biographical Sketch
- Wisconsin Biographies