The Businessman-Inventor

We have seen how inventors turned into business by marketing their own inventions, but there were those who had a business and turned into inventors as well.  These businessmen had a "nose" for new ideas and were willing to risk their capital, their time and energy, to see those ideas come into fruition.

There were men like Frederic Tudor of the ice business fame, Edwin Drake of the oil business, Gustavus Swift of the meat packing business, and John Henry Patterson of the sales business.  Each man had a bit of inventor in him, but they were mainly promoters and organizers. 

No matter which type of inventor they all were, all inventors had something in common - they had "stick-to-it-ive-ness," a single-minded persistence that made them pursue their idea regardless of the circumstances, opinions, or obstacles they encountered. 

The industrial research and development laboratory was organized with this same spirit.  The attitude, the energy, and the purpose that was born in these inventors and businessmen was brought to R&D.  These men worked on things the American public didn't even know existed, until it existed, with parameters like "feasibility"  "cost" and "need."  They were amateur inventors, but they were not rule of thumb guys.  They were scientists with advanced training and knowledge.  No longer working to find one particular thing, they were just seeking to find.  The process of finding was the focus now.  And the things they discovered, or invented, changed the world.

Next time...Willis R. Whitney
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Today in Pioneer History: "On May 7, 1843, a teenage sailor, Nakahama Manjiro, comes ashore in Fairhaven, Massachusetts after a shipwreck and is considered the first Japanese immigrant in America.  He attends schools, goes on whaling expeditions and becomes a part of the California Gold Rush before sailing back to Japan.