Thomas J. Watson

Thomas J. Watson, Sr. (February 17, 1874 – June 19, 1956) is considered to be the founder of International Business Machines (IBM). He was one of the richest men of his time and called the world's greatest salesman when he died.

Head of IBM

Watson became the president of the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company on May 1, 1914. This was a company that had only been in existence for three years. When he took the job, the company had fewer than 400 employees. In 1924 the company took the name 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 more than 90 percent of all tabulating machines in the United States at the time.

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He considered an important part of his job to motivate the sales force. As part of this, he was famous for making his salespeople at both NCR and IBM attend sing-a-longs (see The IBM Songbook below).

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Throughout his life, Watson maintained a deep interest in international relations. He adopted for IBM the slogan, "World Peace Through World Trade," worked closely with the International Chamber of Commerce and in 1937 was elected its president. For many years Mr. Watson served as a trustee of Columbia University and Lafayette College. He was presented with honorary degrees by 27 colleges and universities in the United States and four abroad. This work, however, was not without controversy. In 1937, Watson received the Eagle with Star medal from German Chancellor Adolf Hitler, for the help that IBM subsidiary Dehomag and its Hollerith punchcard machines provided the Nazi regime for tabulating census data. After the outbreak of World War II, Watson returned the medal, and the German government took control of the Dehomag operation.

Related Topics:
Columbia University - Lafayette College - 1937 - Adolf Hitler - Hollerith - Nazi - World War II

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Watson was named chairman of IBM in September 1949. A month before his death, Watson handed over the reins of the company to his older son, Thomas J. Watson, Jr. His other son, Arthur K. Watson, served as president of IBM World Trade Corp.

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He lived at 4 East Seventy-fifth Street in Manhattan at the time of his death. He is buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Sleepy Hollow, New York.

Related Topics:
Manhattan - Sleepy Hollow Cemetery - Sleepy Hollow, New York

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