Tom watson ibm biography books

Skip to main content. Search Search. Add to Wish List. As CEO, Watson drove a revolution no other company—then or now—would dare, laying the foundation for the digital age that has transformed every society, corporation, and government. While he put IBM and its employees at risk, Watson also carried out a family-shattering battle over the future of the company with his brother Dick.

Watson was also president of the International Chamber of Commerce in ; the medal was awarded while the ICC was meeting in Germany that year. In the s, Watson was on the national executive board of the Boy Scouts of America and served for a time as an international Scout commissioner. Urner Goodman recounts that the elderly Watson attended an international Scout commissioners' meeting in Switzerlandwhere the IBM founder asked not to be put on a pedestal.

Before the conference was over, Goodman relates, Watson " His son, Thomas Jr. Throughout his life Watson continued to own and enjoy the family farm on which he was born. In he and his wife gave it, along with one million dollars, to the Methodist Church for use as a retreat and conference center, to be named Watson Homestead in memory of his parents.

Watson Homestead became independent of the church inand continues as a conference and retreat center. The one-room school that Watson attended as a child is still on the grounds. Watson was chairman of the Elmira College centennial committee in and donated Watson Hall, primarily a music and mathematics academic building. He was posthumously inducted into the Junior Achievement U.

Business Hall of Fame in Although Watson is well known for his alleged statement, "I think there is a world market for maybe five computers," there is scant evidence he said it.

Tom watson ibm biography books: Over the course of forty-two years,

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. One of the first attributions is in the German magazine Der Spiegel of May 22,stating that IBM boss Thomas Watson had not been interested in the new machines initially, and when the first commercial calculation behemoths appeared in the early s, filling whole floors with thousands of heat generating vacuum tubes, he estimated the demand by the US economy at a maximum of five.

His role model is Tom Watson, then IBM chairman, who said in 'I think there is a world market for about five computers. There are documented versions of similar quotes by other people in the early history of the computer. In the story was discussed on Usenet in net.

Tom watson ibm biography books: The son of IBM's founder,

The original discussion has not survived, but an explanation has; it attributes a very similar quote to the Cambridge mathematician Professor Douglas Hartreearound 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 Teddingtonand one in Manchester. No one else, he said, would ever need machines of their own, or would be able to afford to buy them. Howard H.

Aiken made a similar statement in Originally one thought that if there were a half dozen large computers in this country, hidden away in research laboratories, this would take care of all requirements we had throughout the country. The story already had been described as a myth in ; the Economist quoted a Mr. Maney as "revealing that Watson never made his oft-quoted prediction that there was 'a world market for maybe five computers.

Since the attribution typically is used to demonstrate the fallacy of predictions, if Watson had made such a prediction inthen, as Gordon Bell pointed out in his ACM 50 years celebration keynote, it would have held true for some ten years. The IBM archives of Frequently Asked Questions [ 42 ] notes an inquiry about whether he said in the s that he foresaw a market potential for only five electronic computers.

He said that "IBM had developed a paper plan for such a machine and took this paper plan across the country to some 20 concerns that we thought could use such a machine. But, as a result of our trip, on which we expected to get orders for five machines, we came home with orders for International Business Machines's first U. This trademark was filed fourteen years before the company filed for a U.

A biographical article in noted that "This word is on the most conspicuous wall of every room in every IBM building. A monthly magazine called 'Think' is distributed to the employees. Contents move to sidebar hide.

Tom watson ibm biography books: Thomas Watson Jr. surprised me on

Article Talk. Read Edit View history. Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version. In other projects. Wikimedia Commons Wikiquote Wikidata item. American businessman — For his son, see Thomas J. For other people named Thomas Watson, see Thomas Watson disambiguation. Campbell, New YorkU. ManhattanNew York City, U. Jeanette M. Early life and career [ edit ].

Tom watson ibm biography books: “A briskly told biography

NCR [ edit ]. Head of IBM [ edit ]. Dealings with Nazi Germany [ edit ]. Dealings with the United States [ edit ]. Post-World War II [ edit ]. As a fan of historical computing, I enjoyed some of this book, but it's more about culture than tech, and as I mentioned, Rodgers doesn't seem to have the tools to write analytically about IBM's company culture and why it mattered so much.

Jeffrey Thomas. Fascinating account of the origins of IBM, and the business life of the early s. It also uncovers the rather bizarre personal habits of the "modern thinkers" of that era, regarding dietary restrictions and exercise. I had not known of Watson's involvement with NCR in developing his own business acumen -- and the brutal monopolistic tactics of NCR in those early days!

IBM's beginnings were such a succession of accidental chance encounters and simple money-focused business moves, it is amazing that IBM is one of the few survivors of the computer business; but then that speaks to its adaptability, as it was never truly focused on computing per se. I was particularly interested in this book as I worked for several years at "TJ Watson Labs", a division of the computer center at Columbia University evidently funded by IBM's founder.

Again, this book provides a wonderful vignette on real life in the early s, and the cutthroat business atmosphere as well. Computers are really kind of secondary to this biographical survey. Peter Greulich. Author 6 books. Reading this book, I wasn't so much concerned with Watson Sr. The author's ego is on display on almost every page, and the fact that there is not a single documenting footnote or endnote for any of the outlandish claims in this book should be an embarrassment to the author.

Shoddy and slipshod research and writing that is selling through sensationalism rather than strong information supported with references a person can fact check. As CEO, Watson drove a revolution no other company-then or now-would dare, laying the foundation for the digital age that has transformed every society, corporation, and government.

The story of Watson being "present at the creation" of the digital age is intertwined with near-Shakespearean personal drama. While he put IBM and its employees at risk, Watson also carried out a family-shattering battle over the future of the company with his brother Dick. This titanic struggle between brothers led to Dick's death and almost killed Watson Jr.

Though he was eventually touted by Fortune magazine as "the greatest capitalist who ever lived," Watson's directionless, playboy early years made him an unlikely candidate for corporate titan.