Bill Hewlett

Cofounder and former CEO of Hewlett-Packard

• Born: May 20, 1913
• Place of Birth: Ann Arbor, Michigan
• Died: January 12, 2001
• Place of Death: Palo Alto, California

• Primary Company/Organization: Hewlett-Packard

Introduction

Together with his longtime friend and business partner, David Packard, Bill Hewlett helped create the modern technological industry. Although quiet and self-effacing, Hewlett was known for his leadership abilities and served as president, chief executive officer (CEO), and chairman of the Hewlett-Packard Company, which he cofounded with Packard. A model for many other high-tech companies, Hewlett-Packard combined cutting-edge technology, creativity, and a progressive working environment. It has served as a model for generations of technology entrepreneurs.

Early Life

On May 20, 1913, William Redington “Bill” Hewlett was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan. His father was a professor at the University of Michigan's medical school. In 1916, Hewlett and his family moved to San Francisco, California, his father's home state, so that he could join the faculty of the Stanford Medical School, which was located in that city at the time. There, Hewlett's father introduced his son to the culture, science, and literature of the San Francisco Bay area. After entering school, Hewlett learned that he was dyslexic. Throughout his life, he would experience challenges in his academic career as a result of his difficulties with reading. However, his talent for engineering allowed him to adapt, and he memorized subject matter by repeating it to himself. His dyslexia thus instilled in him a belief that life's obstacles required unusual and innovative solutions, and he became known at a very young age as adept at solving problems that stemmed from a variety of sources.

Hewlett indicated a preference for an engineering career at an early age. This preference manifested itself in a desire to cause a variety of objects and substances to explode. Hewlett's method involved stuffing doorknobs full of explosive and then igniting them in a variety of ways. He preferred doorknobs because they were hollow and compact; they could be used as bomb shells with little modification. Despite this hobby, young Hewlett was a good-natured and well-behaved child. Although pleasant, he was considered introverted by many, a trait that persisted throughout his life. Hewlett's dyslexia caused him to spend a great deal of energy trying to grow out of his disability. To do so, he developed a deep passion for mountain climbing and camping, two activities that he was firmly convinced helped him to overcome his condition. When Hewlett turned twelve years old, his father died of a brain tumor, a situation that was difficult for the boy. Hewlett used his school's science laboratory and the mountains to distract him from this tragedy. In part to deal with this stress of his loss, he and his sister Louise were moved to France for a year. His grandparents mentored him there.

Upon his family's return to San Francisco, Hewlett enrolled at Lowell High School, a well-regarded preparatory academy. Hewlett's goal was to graduate and attend Stanford University, where his father had taught. Despite his keen intelligence, Hewlett's abilities did not translate to high school success, given his challenging dyslexia. However, Hewlett loved to learn how things worked, which he called “tinkering,” and he always worked hard at that endeavor. When he graduated from high school and requested a letter of recommendation from Lowell's principal, she initially refused, believing Hewlett unlikely to succeed at Stanford. However, she learned that Bill's father was Albion Hewlett, one of the best students she had previously taught. This information, coupled with Hewlett's persistence and tenacity, won her admiration and prompted her to write the recommendation letter, which opened the way for enrollment at Stanford in 1930. Hewlett became a cadet in the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) at Stanford, serving after graduation as a reserve officer in the Army, specializing in ordnance. He received his bachelor's degree from Stanford in 1934 and two years later a master's degree in electrical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). In 1939, Hewlett received the degree of electrical engineer from Stanford.

Life's Work

During his time as an undergraduate, Hewlett studied under and was mentored by professor of electrical engineering Frederick Terman, who mentored many aspiring electrical engineers and is considered by many to have been largely responsible for the development of the culture that evolved into the Bay Area's so-called Silicon Valley. While Hewlett was enrolled in Terman's classes, he became acquainted with a classmate named David Packard. The two young men had much in common, although their personalities were different. While Packard was social and outgoing, Hewlett was neither. Soon, however, Hewlett discovered that Packard shared his love for blowing things up, as well as hunting, fishing, skiing, and mountain climbing. Both had a passion to discover and invent.

Hewlett and Packard first considered forming a company together in August 1937. After discussing the matter with Terman, who endorsed the idea, the duo formed the Hewlett-Packard Company on January 1, 1939. The order of the two men's names in the company name was based on a coin flip. Short on funds, Hewlett-Packard's initial corporate office and laboratories were situated in Packard's garage at his home in Palo Alto. In the beginning, the two young entrepreneurs had a total of $538 to invest in their company. With the Great Depression still in full force, the company's start was not easy.

The pressures Hewlett and Packard faced, however, motivated them to perform at a high level. The two devised a series of unique and seemingly unrelated products in an attempt to generate revenue and turn a profit. The company developed a foul line indicator for bowling lanes, a device that would make a urinal flush automatically as soon as a user stepped in front of it, and a shock machine that was intended to help people lose weight. The contrasting personalities of the two founders led each to assume a role that best fit his strengths. Packard became the administrative specialist, while Hewlett devised the technical innovations.

The first successful invention to gain the company attention as an innovator was the audio frequency oscillator, which allowed motion-picture studios to test the advanced sound equipment used on sound stages and in television studios. Hewlett-Packard gave the audio frequency oscillator the stock number 200A, because the duo believed naming it the 1A would betray their inexperience and alienate potential customers. The device proved to be an inexpensive, reliable instrument that filmmakers could use to ensure that sound equipment was in working order before filming began, thus curtailing the need for expensive reshoots. Walt Disney heard of the invention and purchased eight of the oscillators for $71.50 each for his studio's upcoming film Fantasia. After this film was widely praised for its animation, special effects, and sound, many competitor studios also purchased audio frequency oscillators to assure that they remained competitive with the Disney studio.

With the popularity of this and other products, Hewlett-Packard enjoyed increasing success. Hewlett discovered a market for devices that could test and correct equipment manufactured by others. This range of products utilized technology already in existence and fit the needs of an existing market. Hewlett-Packard also found that a product created for one market could often be sold to other groups. The audio frequency oscillator, for example, was created and marketed initially to the movie industry, but it also proved useful to clinics and hospitals, geologists, engineers, oil and mining companies, and even the military. As Hewlett-Packard learned to market its products differently to different clients, it learned the importance of continuing to think about products even after they had generated sales. From the 1930s through the 1990s, Hewlett-Packard developed and sold a range of electronic test equipment, including frequency counters, oscilloscopes, thermometers, time standards, voltmeters, and wave analyzers. During these early years, Hewlett-Packard's products developed a reputation for being carefully engineered, sensitive, and well made.

In 1941, Hewlett was drafted to serve in the armed forces during World War II. He initially feared that this would prove difficult for him, but he transitioned well into military life and found its rigors to be fairly easy for him. Hewlett began serving in the Aviation Ordnance Department (AOD). While he was not able to apply his many technical skills in this assignment, he was able to exercise his ROTC training. Packard, who remained in charge of the company, transitioning it into a useful cog in the defense industry, was able to forge connections that allowed him to trumpet Hewlett's technical skills to those in high places. Packard was able to persuade Colonel Roger Colton of the Army Signal Corps to transfer Hewlett in order to put his electrical and technical skills to use in the American war effort. In 1941, Hewlett-Packard changed its legal status from a partnership to a corporation, which allowed Hewlett to be identified as a “key employee” and permitted him to return to Palo Alto briefly to assist in the company's operations. After the December 7 attack on Pearl Harbor, however, Hewlett was transferred to New Jersey's Fort Monmouth, where he would serve until 1947.

When Hewlett returned, he found out that the company had become a thriving concern. It had more than two hundred employees and was growing quickly. Hewlett was named vice president. The 1950s saw the company develop a wide range of electronic devices for industrial and agricultural use. During the 1960s, Hewlett-Packard began developing semiconductors for use in a variety of calculators and other business devices. At this time, the company also entered into a partnership with Sony Corporation and Yokogawa Electric Corporation to license production of some of Hewlett-Packard's products in Japan. In 1968, Hewlett-Packard introduced the 9100A, a programmable calculator that has since been referred to as the first personal computer (PC). During the 1970s, the company introduced the first handheld scientific electronic calculator and the first symbolic and graphing calculator. These products had a reputation as sturdy and usable and were highly popular with corporate users.

Hewlett served as president of Hewlett-Packard from 1964 to 1977 and as CEO from 1968 to 1978. He continued as chairman of the company's executive committee until 1983 and as vice chairman of the board until 1987. He once received a telephone call from a ninth-grader requesting a part for a frequency counter. The ninth-grader, Steve Jobs, so impressed Hewlett that he offered Jobs summer employment at Hewlett-Packard. The company also later employed Jobs's future Apple Computer cofounder, Steve Wozniak, who designed the prototype for the Apple I computer while working at Hewlett-Packard. In 1985, President Ronald Reagan awarded Hewlett the National Medal of Science, the nation's highest honor for scientific accomplishment. Hewlett died of heart failure in Palo Alto, California, on January 12, 2001, and was buried in Los Gatos Memorial Park in San Jose, California.

Personal Life

While at Stanford, Hewlett was a member of the social fraternity Kappa Sigma. In 1939, he married his fiancée, Flora Lamson. Their marriage eventually resulted in five children and twelve grandchildren. The couple remained together until Flora died in 1977. One year later, in 1978, Hewlett married Rosemary Bradford.

Hewlett was a tireless advocate for education and medicine throughout his life. He was a longtime director of the Palo Alto/Stanford Hospital Center, serving a term as that organization's president. He was also a member of the board of directors of the Kaiser Foundation Hospital and Health Plan and served on the U.S. Drug Abuse Council. His William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, with assets exceeding $12 billion in 2022, continued to support a variety of causes, including education, the performing arts, global development, and sustainability. Hewlett loved the outdoors: He worked as a botanist and rancher in his spare time and enjoyed mountain climbing, skiing, and fishing.

Bibliography

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Gardner, David Pierpont. "William Redington Hewlett." William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, 2024, hewlett.org/about-us/hewlett-family-and-history/william-redington-hewlett/. Accessed 14 Oct. 2024.

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Markoff, John. “William Hewlett Dies at 87; A Pioneer of Silicon Valley." The New York Times, 13 Jan. 2001, www.nytimes.com/2001/01/13/business/william-hewlett-dies-at-87-a-pioneer-of-silicon-valley.html. Accessed 14 Oct. 2024.

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