Thomas John Watson
Thomas Watson, pictured in 1917
Born	February 17, 1874(1874-02-17) Campbell, New York, USA
Died	June 19, 1956 New York City, New York, USA
Occupation	Business
Spouse	Jeanette M. Kittredge (m. Apr. 17, 1913)
Children	Thomas J. Watson, Jr. Jane Watson Helen Watson Arthur K. Watson
Parents	George Marshall Watson and Mary Keller Watson

Thomas John Watson, Sr. (February 17, 1874 – June 19, 1956) was the president of International Business Machines (IBM), who oversaw that company's growth into an international force from the 1920s to the 1950s. Watson developed IBM's effective management style and turned it into one of the most effective selling organizations yet seen, based largely around punched card tabulating machines. A leading self-made industrialist^[1], he was one of the richest men of his time and was called the world's greatest salesman when he died in 1956. Thomas J. Watson in 1917 Taken by a Chicago Daily News, Inc. ... is the 48th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1874 (MDCCCLXXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link with display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_New_York. ... Campbell is a town located in Steuben County, New York, United States. ... “NY” redirects here. ... is the 170th day of the year (171st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_New_York_City. ... New York, New York redirects here. ... “NY” redirects here. ... Wall Street, Manhattan is the location of the New York Stock Exchange and is often used as a symbol for the world of business. ... Thomas John Watson, Jr. ... is the 48th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1874 (MDCCCLXXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link with display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... is the 170th day of the year (171st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... International Business Machines Corporation (IBM, or colloquially, Big Blue) (NYSE: IBM) (incorporated June 15, 1911, in operation since 1888) is headquartered in Armonk, New York, USA. The company manufactures and sells computer hardware, software, and services. ... A CTR census machine, utilizing a punched card system. ... Tabulating machine constructed by Hollerith The tabulating machine was a machine designed to assist in tabulations. ...

Early life and career

Born on February 17, 1874, he was very much the country boy. His father owned a modest lumber business located in Painted Post, 20 miles west of Elmira in northwestern New York State. He himself as a child was something of a loner. An asthmatic, he was remembered as being shy at social gatherings. is the 48th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1874 (MDCCCLXXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link with display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Painted Post is a village located in Steuben County, New York. ... Elmira is the name of some places in the United States of America and Canada: Elmira, California Elmira, Michigan Elmira, New York Elmira, Ontario This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

Having given up his first job - teaching - after just one day, he took a year's course in accounting and business at the local Miller School of Commerce; finishing in May 1892. His second job as a $6 a week bookkeeper was almost as brief as his first, giving way to a career as a peddler. He joined a traveling salesman, George Cornwell, peddling organs and pianos around the farms, for the local hardware store (William Bronsons). When Cornwell left he continued alone, earning the sum of $10 per week. It was only after two years of this life that he realized he would be earning $70 per week if he were on a commission. The impact of his indignation on making this discovery was such that he upped stakes and moved from his familiar surroundings to the relative metropolis of Buffalo.

He then spent a very brief period selling sewing machines for Wheeler and Wilcox. According to Tom Watson Jr., in his autobiography, "One day my dad went into a roadside saloon to celebrate a sale and had too much to drink. When the bar closed, he found that his entire rig - horse, buggy, and samples - had been stolen. Wheeler and Wilcox fired him and dunned him for the lost property. Word got around, of course, and it took Dad more than a year to find another steady job." As Tom Jr. went on to say "This anecdote never made it into IBM lore, which is too bad, because it would have helped explain Father to the tens of thousands of people who had to follow his rules."

In the meantime, he once more set out on the road selling. In this case his partner was C B Barron, a showman renowned for his disreputable conduct; which Watson, as a lifelong Methodist, deplored. Jointly they peddled shares of the Buffalo Building and Loan. They were soon very successful and with his proceeds Watson set up a butchers shop as an investment. Unfortunately, true to form, Barron absconded with the commission and the loan funds, leaving Watson with no money, no investment (he lost the shop as a result), and no job. Thus for the second, but not the last time, he was fired.^[2] Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      For school of ancient Greek medicine...

NCR

Watson had a newly acquired NCR cash register in his butcher shop, for which he had to arrange new repayments. On visiting NCR he determined to join the company; and after a number of abortive attempts he finally succeeded. Led by John Patterson, NCR was then one of the leading selling organizations, and John J. Range, its Buffalo branch manager, became almost a father figure for Watson and was a model for his sales and management style. Certainly in later years, in a 1952 interview, he claimed he learned more from Range than anyone else. But at first he was a poor salesman, until Range took him personally in hand. Then he became the most successful salesman in the East, earning $100 per week. In 1899, at the age of 25, Watson was rewarded with the NCR agency for Rochester, one of NCR's smaller branches. As an agent he got 35% commission. As a result of these techniques, which largely revolved around knocking the main competitor (Hallwood), in four years Watson made Rochester effectively an NCR monopoly. As a reward he was called to the NCR head office in Dayton, Ohio, U.S..^[3] NCR Corporation (NYSE: NCR) is a technology company specializing in solutions for the retail and financial industries. ... John H. Patterson, the Owner of NCR John H. Patterson was the founder and first owner of the National Cash Register Company. ... : Gem City : Birthplace of Aviation United States Ohio Montgomery 56. ... Official language(s) None Capital Columbus Largest city Columbus Largest metro area Cleveland Area  Ranked 34th  - Total 44,825 sq mi (116,096 km²)  - Width 220 miles (355 km)  - Length 220 miles (355 km)  - % water 8. ... Motto: (Out Of Many, One) (traditional) In God We Trust (1956 to date) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington D.C. Largest city New York City None at federal level (English de facto) Government Federal constitutional republic  - President George Walker Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence from...

Antitrust affair

Watson's role in the scheme of things then was to knock out the competition in the used cash register market. It was made less legal by the chosen means. Using funds allegedly supplied by NCR he set up what was ostensibly a completely independent organization, Watson's Cash Register and Second Hand Exchange, in Manhattan. Undercutting the competition, for he had no need to make a profit (having effectively limitless funds from NCR), he gradually monopolized the business; until he was able to buy out the competitors, which he promptly did. He then moved on to Philadelphia and after that progressed across the country, repeating the operation and covertly establishing another near monopoly for NCR, in the second-hand business, to match that already established in the new machine market.

In 1908, when the second-hand business was merged into the regular sales offices, Watson became assistant sales manager; moving up to become sales manager in 1910 with a further role - working along with NCR's engineers - in new product development.

In terms of the questionable second-hand business, Watson later claimed that he didn't appreciate the implications of what he was doing, and indeed it is quite possible that he was so immersed in the work that he failed to understand the full depth of Patterson's machinations. Nevertheless it was a clear, indeed blatant, breach of the anti‑trust legislation; though until that time such legislation had, in the spirit of the age, been more honored in the breach rather than by adherence. Perhaps he was unlucky, but along with 30 other NCR managers (including Patterson) on 22nd February 1912 he was indicted in an anti‑trust suit instigated by managers previously.

In the six months before his trial he met his wife to be, Jeanette Kittredge. He married her just two weeks after the trial finished on February 13th 1913; he having been found guilty and sentenced to a $5,000 fine plus a year in Miami County jail. The jail sentence was unexpected, previously only fines had been imposed; and the sentence was appealed.^[4]

Head of IBM

Watson joined the Computing Tabulating Recording Corporation (CTR) on May 1, 1914. When Watson took over as general manager, the company had fewer than 400 employees. In 1924, he renamed the company International Business Machines. Watson built IBM into such a powerful force that the federal government filed a civil antitrust suit against them in 1952. IBM owned and leased more than 90 percent of all tabulating machines in the United States at the time. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... International Business Machines Corporation (IBM, or colloquially, Big Blue) (NYSE: IBM) (incorporated June 15, 1911, in operation since 1888) is headquartered in Armonk, New York, USA. The company manufactures and sells computer hardware, software, and services. ...

Throughout his life, Watson maintained a deep interest in international relations. He was known as President Roosevelt's un-official Ambassador in NY and often entertained foreign statesman. In 1937 he was elected president of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and at that years biennial congress in Berlin stated the conference keynote to be World Peace Through World Trade.^[5] That phrase became the slogan of both the ICC and IBM.^[6] He was one of the most prominent businessmen in the Democratic party. Watson served as a trustee of Columbia University, where he engineered the selection of Dwight D. Eisenhower as president. The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) is an international organization that works to promote and support global trade and globalization. ... Columbia University is a private research university in the United States and a member of the prestigious Ivy League. ... Dwight David Eisenhower (October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American General and politician, who served as the thirty-fourth President of the United States (1953–1961). ...

Watson personally approved and spearheaded IBM's strategic technological relationship with the Third Reich.^[7] In this relationship, IBM helped make Nazi Germany more efficient; as it did its enemies England, Soviet Russia, and the United States of America where IBM did substantial business as well. In 1937, Watson received the Eagle with Star medal from Germany for the help that IBM subsidiary Dehomag (Deutsche Hollerith-Maschinen Gesellschaft mbH) and its punchcard machines provided the Nazi regime for tabulating census data. Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ... National Socialism redirects here. ... Dehomag was a German business, effectively a franchisee and subcompany of International Business Machines. ...

It is important to note, after the outbreak of The Second World War, Watson returned the medal, and the German government took ownership of the Dehomag operation. IBM and Thomas Watson were directly and partly responsible for the "ghettoization",organization and deportation of the jews. IBM computers allowed Hitler to indentify,organize and ultimatly destroy European Jewry. While we cannot know how much Watson sr. knew about what Hitler was doing to the Jews it was certainly no secret how Hitler and the third riech felt about the jews. The number that was tattooed on every Jewish prisoner was produced by an IBM machine specifically designed for this task. Every tattoo had a card to match it. IBM personal where stationed in germany and all over its territorys to maintain and operate these computers. Thomas Watson Sr involved himself with the nazi's for the sake of profit. Photos can be found in books and on the internet of Mr Watson personally meeting with Hitler to discuss the use of IBM equipment in the Third Riech.

IBM then became more deeply involved in the war effort for the United States of America, focusing on producing large quantities of data processing equipment for the military and experimenting with analog computers. His son Tom Watson Jr. joined the Airforce where he would ferry General Follet Bradley who was in charge of all Lend-Lease equipment supplied to the Soviet Union from the United States. Watson also developed the 1% doctrine for war profits which mandated that IBM receive no more than 1% profit from the sales of military equipment to U.S. Government.^[8] Watson has been one of the few CEO's to develop such a policy. The Lend-Lease program was a program of the United States during World War II that allowed the United States to provide the Allied Powers with war material without becoming directly involved in the war. ...

Watson worked with other local leaders to create a college in the Binghamton area, where IBM had major plants. In 1946 IBM provided land and funding for Triple Cities College, an extension of Syracuse University. Eventually it became part of Binghamton University. Its School of Engineering and Applied Sciences is named the Thomas J. Watson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Binghamton is a city in upstate New York in the United States. ... Syracuse University (SU) is a private nonsectarian research university located in Syracuse, New York. ... Overlooking center of campus. ...

Watson was named chairman emeritus of IBM in 1956. A month before his death, Watson handed over the reins of the company to his oldest son, Thomas J. Watson, Jr. Thomas John Watson, Jr. ...

Personal

Watson married Jeanette Kittredge, from a prominent Dayton, Ohio railroad family, on April 17, 1913. They had two sons and two daughters. Dayton, a surname and place name, may refer to: // Elias Dayton (1737-1807), Colonel and father of Jonathan and builder of Fort Dayton Jonathan Dayton (1760-1824), son of Elias, signer of the United States Constitution, and Speaker of the House Dayton Clarence Miller (1866-1941), an American physicist and... is the 107th day of the year (108th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1913 (MCMXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ...

1. Thomas J. Watson, Jr., succeeded his father as IBM chairman and later served as Ambassador to the Soviet Union under Jimmy Carter.
2. Jeanette Watson Irwin married businessman John N. Irwin, later Ambassador to France
3. Helen Watson Buckner became an important philanthropist in New York City.
4. Arthur K. Watson served as president of IBM World Trade Corporation and later as Ambassador to France.

As a Democrat (after his criminal indictment by the Taft Administration) Watson was an ardent supporter of Roosevelt. He was considered Roosevelt's strongest supporter in the business community. Thomas John Watson, Jr. ... For other persons named Jimmy Carter, see Jimmy Carter (disambiguation). ... John Nichol Irwin (born December 25, 1847 in Butler County, Ohio – died December 22, 1905 in Hot Springs, Arkansas) was governor of Idaho Territory from 1883 to 1884. ...

The US Supreme Court, in 1936, upheld the lower court decision that IBM, together with Remington, should cease its practice of requiring its customers to buy their cards from it alone. In the event it made little difference because IBM was the only effective supplier to the market; and profits continued undiminished.^[9]

As a powerful trustee of Columbia University (June 6 1933–death) Watson played the central role in convincing Dwight D. Eisenhower to become president of the school. Columbia University is a private research university in the United States and a member of the prestigious Ivy League. ... Dwight David Eisenhower (October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American General and politician, who served as the thirty-fourth President of the United States (1953–1961). ...

Was Chairman of the Elmira College Centennial Committee in 1955 and gave Watson Hall, primarily a music and mathematics academic building. Elmira College is a coeducational, comprehensive college located geographically in the Southern Tier of New York and just south of the Finger Lakes, a region covered by vineyards and fertile valleys and carved by gorges--the results of ice age after successive ice age gradually leaving its mark on the...

Famous misquote

Although Watson is well known for his alleged 1943 statement: "I think there is a world market for maybe five computers," there is no evidence he ever made it. The author Kevin Maney tried to find the origin of the quote, but has been unable to locate any speeches or documents of Watson's that contain this, nor are the words present in any contemporary articles about IBM. The earliest known citation is from 1986 on Usenet in the signature of a poster from Convex Computer Corporation as "I think there is a world market for about five computers" — Remark attributed to Thomas J. Watson (Chairman of the Board of International Business Machines), 1943. Another early article source (May 15, 1985) is a column by Neil Morgan, a San Diego Evening Tribune writer who wrote: 'Forrest Shumway, chairman of The Signal Cos., doesn't make predictions. His role model is Tom Watson, then IBM chairman, who said in 1958: "I think there is a world market for about five computers."'. However one of the very first quotes can be found in a book "The Experts Speak" written by Christopher Cerf and Victor S. Navasky in 1984. But Cerf and Navasky just quote from a book written by Morgan and Langford, "Facts and Fallacies". However all these early quotes are questioned by Eric Weiss, an Editor of the Annals of the History of Computing in ACS letters in 1985.^[10] Usenet (USEr NETwork) is a global, decentralized, distributed Internet discussion system that evolved from a general purpose UUCP architecture of the same name. ...

However, in 1985 the story was discussed on Usenet (in net.misc), without Watson's name being attached. The original discussion has not survived, but an explanation has; it attributes a very similar quote to the Cambridge mathematician Professor Douglas Hartree, around 1951: The University of Cambridge (often Cambridge University), located in Cambridge, England, is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world and has a reputation as one of the worlds most prestigious universities. ... Douglas Rayner Hartree (March 27, 1897 - February 12, 1958) was an English mathematician and physicist most famous for the development of numerical analysis and its application to atomic physics. ...

I went to see Professor Douglas Hartree, who had built the first differential analyzers in England and had more experience in using these very specialized computers than anyone else. He told me that, in his opinion, all the calculations that would ever be needed in this country could be done on the three digital computers which were then being built — one in Cambridge, one in Teddington, and one in Manchester. No one else, he said, would ever need machines of their own, or would be able to afford to buy them.

(quotation from an article by Lord Bowden; American Scientist vol 58 (1970) pp 43–53); cited on Usenet.^[11]

The misquote is itself often misquoted, with fifty computers instead of five. (Bertram) Vivian Bowden, Baron Bowden of Chesterfield (January 18, 1910 - July 28, 1989) was a British scientist and educationist, particularly associated with the development of UMIST as a successful university. ...

Famous quote

"THINK". Watson summarized the IBM philosophy with a motto consisting of one word. A biographical article in 1940 noted that "This word is on the most conspicuous wall of every room in every IBM building. Each employee carries a THINK notebook in which to record inspirations. The company stationery, matches, scratch pads all bear the inscription, THINK. A monthly magazine called Think is distributed to the employees."^[12].

References

• Watson, Thomas J. (1934). Men-Minutes-Money A collection of excerpts from talks and messages delivered and written at various times. International Business Machines. 
• Watson, Thomas J. (1954). As a Man Thinks...: the Man and His Philosophy of Life as Expressed in His Editorials. International Business Machines. 
• Maney, Kevin (2003). The Maverick and His Machine: Thomas Watson, Sr. and the Making of IBM. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 0-471-41463-8 .
• William H. Rodgers. Think; A Biography of the Watsons and IBM (1969).
• Robert Sobel Thomas Watson, Sr.: IBM and the Computer Revolution (1981).
• Richard S. Tedlow. The Watson Dynasty: The Fiery Reign and Troubled Legacy of IBM's Founding Father and Son. (2003)
• Thomas J. Watson. Father, Son & Co.: My Life at IBM and Beyond. (1990)

Robert Sobel in a promotional photo for his publisher. ...

Footnotes

1. ^ http://futureobservatory.dyndns.org/9081.htm
2. ^ http://futureobservatory.dyndns.org/9081.htm
3. ^ http://futureobservatory.dyndns.org/9081.htm
4. ^ http://futureobservatory.dyndns.org/9081.htm
5. ^ Ridgeway, George L. (1938). Merchants of Peace: Twenty Years of Business Diplomacy Through the International Chamber of Commerce 1919-1938. Columbia University Press. 
6. ^ Belden, Thomas; Belden, Marva (1962). The Lengthening Shadow: The Life of Thomas J. Watson. Little, Brown and Company. 
7. ^ Black, Edwin (2001). IBM and the Holocaust. Crown Publishers. 
8. ^ IBM Archives: 1940s. IBM. Retrieved on 2007-07-30.
9. ^ http://futureobservatory.dyndns.org/9081.htm
10. ^ http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/2465.314899
11. ^ http://groups-beta.google.com/group/net.misc/msg/00c91c2cc0896b77
12. ^ Current Biography 1940, p846

Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 211th day of the year (212th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Thomas J. Watson

• Obituary, NY Times, June 20, 1956 Thomas J. Watson Sr. Is Dead; I.B.M. Board Chairman Was 82
• The IBM Songbook
• First Usenet Posting of the misquote
• IBM biography of Watson