Remington Rand, Inc.was an early American business machine manufacturer, originally atypewritermanufacturer and in a later incarnation the manufacturer of theUNIVACline ofmainframe computers.Formed in 1927 following a merger, Remington Rand was a diversifiedconglomeratemaking other office equipment, electric shavers, etc. The Remington Rand Building at 315Park AvenueSouth inNew York Cityis a 20-floor skyscraper completed in 1911.[1]After 1955, Remington Rand had a long series of mergers and acquisitions that eventually resulted in the formation ofUnisys.
 | |
 Rock Ledge estate inRowayton, Connecticut,company headquarters from 1943 to 1964 | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Technology |
| Predecessors | |
| Founded | 1927 |
| Defunct | 1955 |
| Fate | Merged withSperry Corporationin 1955 to becomeSperry Rand;latter merged withBurroughs Corporationin 1986 to becomeUnisys |
| Headquarters | |
| Products |
|
| Divisions | |
DuringWorld War II,Remington Rand producedM1911 pistolsused by the United States Armed Forces.
History
editRemington Rand was formed in 1927 by the merger of theRemington Typewriter CompanyandRand Kardex Corporation.One of its earliest factories, the formerHerschell–Spillman Motor Company Complex,was listed on theNational Register of Historic Placesin 2013.[2][3]Within the first year, Remington Rand acquired the Dalton Adding Machine Company, thePowers Accounting Machine Company,the Baker-Vawter Company, and the Kalamazoo Loose Leaf Binder Company.[4][5]From 1936 to 1937 Remington Rand workers went on strike, which resulted in violence and the loss of jobs.[6]
From 1942 to 1945, Remington Rand was a contract manufacturer of theM1911A1.45 caliber semi-automatic pistol used by the United States Armed Forces during World War II. Remington Rand produced more M1911A1 pistols than any other wartime manufacturer.[7]Remington Rand ranked 66th among United States corporations in the value of World War II military production contracts.[8]
In 1950, Remington Rand acquired theEckert–Mauchly Computer Corporation,founded by the makers of theENIAC,and in 1952, they acquiredEngineering Research Associates(ERA), both of which were pioneers in electronic computing. At that time, Remington Rand was one of the biggest computer companies in the United States.[9]
On June 14, 1951, the company's first computer was introduced, theUNIVAC I(Universal Automatic Computer). Many branches of the U.S. military, including the Air Force and the Army, were among the first to use the computers. When companies started to buy the computers, they would leave the computers at the Remington Rand facility since they were so big and bulky. The UNIVAC I was about the size of a one-car garage, and 46 of them were built and sold for $1 million each.[10]
Remington Rand was acquired bySperry Corporationin 1955 to form Sperry Rand (later shortened to Sperry). However, the brand "Remington Rand" continued as a subdivision for many years.[11]Sperry merged in 1986 withBurroughsto formUnisys.[9]
Remington Rand was a regular co-sponsor of the CBS panel showWhat's My Line?throughout much of the show's run.[12][13]
Strike of 1936–1937
editRemington Rand had a major worker strike between 1936 and 1937 when the company bought the Noiseless Typewriter Company in 1924, and the Noiseless Typewriter Company kept their company name and their workers were getting paid by Remington Rand. Also in the summer of 1936,James Rand Jr.tried to break up the strike by firing union workers and hiring new workers to take their places. Rand Jr. also threatened to close the plant. The strike got so severe that state and local police helped keep the strikers from throwing stones at workers and vehicles.[14]
The strike was started by the Federal Union, which was affiliated with theAmerican Federation of Labor(AFL). James Rand Jr. used the idea of theMohawk Valley Formulato try to break up the strike. The Mohawk Valley Formula was used to spread propaganda about the union strikes. The propaganda was carried out by spreading rumors and lambasting the union strikers for hurting their families, by having no income for their households since they were out of work. The propaganda was also often used to call the union strikers communist or anarchist, to make the public hate the union strikers.[15]
In 1937, the NLRB decided in favor of the workers, and the board ordered Rand to stop interfering with employees' unions and their right to organize. After the strike ended in the summer 1940, the Middletown plant had closed permanently, leaving 1,200 employees without jobs. There were still legal battles being fought for the employees that were in the strike while the plant was closing. The Middletown plant was run by strikebreakers until the closing of the plant in 1940.[15]Today the building is the home of Stubborn Beauty Brewery.[16]
Products
editTypewriters
edit
Initially produced byE. Remington and Sons,Remington typewriters were the first to use theQWERTYkeyboard layout. Remington had bought the design from its inventor,Christopher Sholes.TheRemington No.1was the first model released. All keys were uppercase. Remington spun off Remington Typewriter Company in 1886, and after the 1927 merger, the Remington Rand Corp. continued to manufacture and sell typewriters.[17]
Colt M1911
edit
During World War II, Remington Rand produced 958,764 licensed copies of theM1911 pistolfor the war effort between 1943 and 1945. These were shipped to the Springfield Armory as each contract was fulfilled. Colt Manufacturing Company was unable to fulfill the demand and was assisted by Remington Rand,Singer Corporation,Union Switch & Signal,Remington Armsand theIthaca Gun Company.After the war all contracts for the 1911A1 were cancelled.
UNIVAC
editTheUNIVAC I(UNIVersal Automatic Computer I)was the second commercial computer made in the United States.[18] It was designed principally byJ. Presper EckertandJohn Mauchly,the inventors of theENIAC.Design work was begun by their company,Eckert–Mauchly Computer Corporation,and was completed after the company had been acquired by Remington Rand. (In the years before successor models of the UNIVAC I appeared, the machine was simply known as "the UNIVAC".)[17]
The first UNIVAC was delivered to theUnited States Census Bureauon March 31, 1951, and was dedicated on June 14 that year.[19]The fifth machine (built for theU.S. Atomic Energy Commission) was used byCBSto predict the result of the1952 U.S. presidential election.With a sample of 1% of the voting population it predicted Eisenhower's win.[17]
In 1949, Remington Rand designed theRemington Rand 409,acontrol panelprogrammedpunched cardcalculator (but not introduced as a product until 1952 as the UNIVAC 60 then in 1953 as the UNIVAC 120 with double the memory).[17]
They also soldpunched cardsystems, beginning with the 1928 acquisition of thePowers Accounting Machine Companyand ending in the 1950s.
Electric razors
editRemington Rand also madeelectric razors.TheRemingtonbrand of razor was originally produced by a division of Remington Rand, starting in 1937. Sperry Corporation sold the division in 1979 toVictor Kiam,who became the company spokesman of the newRemington ProductsCompany. His line, "I liked the shaver so much, I bought the company" became one of the more memorable advertising slogans of the early 1980s.
Remington Products was sold in 2003 to thebatterymanufacturerRayovac.Rayovac is nowSpectrum Brands.
References
edit- ^"Remington Rand Building, New York Cit".Skyscraperpage.RetrievedDecember 17,2014.
- ^ "Cultural Resource Information System (CRIS)"(Searchable database).New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.RetrievedNovember 1,2015.Note:This includes Kerry Traynor and Daniel McEneny (January 2013)."National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Herschell–Spillman Motor Company Complex"(PDF).RetrievedNovember 1,2015.andAccompanying photographs
- ^"National Register of Historic Places Listings".Weekly List of Actions Taken on Properties: 6/17/13 through 6/21/13.National Park Service. June 28, 2013.
- ^A History of Sperry Rand Corporation.Sperry Rand. 1967. p. 32.
- ^"Remington Rand".Smithsonian Institution.RetrievedDecember 13,2018.
- ^Marlene Clark (July 4, 2007)."What Was The Noiseless Typewriter Strike Of 1936-1937?".courant.RetrievedDecember 13,2018.
- ^"1911/1911A1 Production Numbers".Archived fromthe originalon February 12, 2009.
- ^Peck, Merton J.&Scherer, Frederic M.The Weapons Acquisition Process: An Economic Analysis(1962) Harvard Business School p.619
- ^abNorberg, Arthur L. (June 1, 2005).Computers and Commerce: A Study of Technology and Management at Eckert–Mauchly Computer Company, Engineering Research Associates, and Remington Rand, 1946-1957.The MIT Press.ISBN978-0-262-14090-4.
- ^"50th anniversary of the UNIVAC I".cnn.June 14, 2001.RetrievedDecember 13,2018.
- ^Saunders, Cece."Remington Rand Facility"(PDF).Midtown Planning.RetrievedDecember 17,2014.
- ^"Notable New Yorkers: Bennett Cerf".Columbia University Libraries Oral History Research Office.Columbia University.RetrievedMarch 3,2020.
- ^"What's My Line - Banned Episode, Smoking - 1950's".YouTube.November 21, 2011.RetrievedAugust 5,2024.
- ^Clark, Marlene (July 4, 2007)."What was the Noiseless Typewriter Strike of 1936-1937?".Hartford Courant.RetrievedDecember 13,2018.
- ^abSmith, Anson C. (Spring 2015). "The 1936 Remington Rand Strike in Middletown: A Case Study in Propaganda".Connecticut History Review.54(1): 112–142.doi:10.2307/44370382.JSTOR44370382.S2CID254491530.
- ^"contact".US: Stubborn Beauty Brewing Company.RetrievedMarch 9,2022.
- ^abcdNorberg, Arthur Lawrence (2005).Computers and Commerce: A Study of Technology and Management at Eckert–Mauchly Computer Company, Engineering Research Associates, and Remington Rand, 1946-1957.MIT Press.ISBN026214090X.
- ^The first commercial computer in the world was theBINACbuilt by the Eckert–Mauchly Computer Corporation and delivered to Northrop Aircraft Company in 1949.
- ^"CNN - Breaking News, U.S., World, Weather, Entertainment & Video News".Cnn.RetrievedDecember 17,2014.
Further reading
edit- James W. Cortada,Before the Computer: IBM, NCR, Burroughs, and Remington Rand and the Industry They Created, 1865–1956(Studies in Business and Technology),ISBN0-691-05045-7
- Arthur L. Norberg,Computers and Commerce: A Study of Technology and Management at Eckert–Mauchly Computer Company, Engineering Research Associates, and Remington Rand, 1946–1957(History of Computing) (Hardcover),ISBN0-262-14090-X
- James M. Utterback,Mastering the Dynamics of Innovation,ISBN0-87584-740-4