1890s–1937 A merger of three 19th-century companies—the Tabulating Machine Company, the International Time Recording Company and the Computing Scale Company of America—creates the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (CTR) on June 16, 1911. CTR is the precursor to IBM. Thomas J. Watson Sr. joins CTR in 1914 and over the next two decades transforms it into a growing leader of innovation and technology and a prototype for the newly emergent multinational corporation. This shift is signaled in 1924, when the company’s name changes to International Business Machines Corporation (IBM). From the beginning, IBM defines itself not by strategies or products—which range from commercial scales to punch card tabulators—but by forward-thinking culture and management practices grounded in core values. By adhering to its vision and values throughout the Depression—providing continued employment, even adding engineers and other staff in order to sustain its production output—IBM is able to play a pivotal role in enabling the U.S. government’s Social Security Act of 1935, “the biggest accounting operation of all time.” in 1914, watson sr. joins ctr, a company with 1,346 employees and $9 million in revenues. firstTest 1886 Dr. Herman Hollerith conducts the first practical test of his tabulating system by recording and tabulating vital statistics for the Baltimore, Maryland, Department of Health. He will later patent this system and form one of IBM’s predecessor companies. firstTest firstTest.png TechnologyAdvances 44 0 355 105 0 dialRecorder 1888 Invented in 1888, this visually striking daily attendance recorder from IBM’s International Time Recording Company will be marketed to employers well into the 1930s. dialRecorder dialRecorder.png TechnologyAdvances 70 0 -252 -32 0 usCensus 1890 Dr. Herman Hollerith’s tabulating system is used in the U.S. Census, reducing a nearly 10-year-long process to two-and-a-half years and saving $5 million. usCensus usCensus.jpg TechnologyAdvances 72 1 40 83 0 unitedKingdom 1906 The Tabulating Machine Company, an IBM predecessor, gives an exclusive license to the British Tabulating Machine Company of London to market its Hollerith-designed punch card technology in Britain. In 1912, the International Time Recording Company—a precursor to IBM United Kingdom—is formed. unitedKingdom unitedKingdom.jpg InternationalScope 60 .1 -425 105 -72 germany 1910 Representatives of the Tabulating Machine Company reach an agreement to manufacture and market the company’s products in Germany. germany germany.jpg InternationalScope 52 .3 75 60 0 canada 1911 The Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company forms in Canada as a merger of the Computing Scale Company, Tabulating Machine Company and the International Time Recording Company Limited. Six years later, the International Business Machines Company Limited incorporates to run the Canadian operations, marking the first formal use of the IBM name. canada canada.jpg InternationalScope CorporateMilestones 60 1 -178 23 0 ctrIsFormed 1911 Charles R. Flint arranges the merger of the International Time Recording Company, Computing Scale Company, and Tabulating Machine Company to form the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company. The new organization is based in New York City and has 1,300 employees. ctrIsFormed ctrIsFormed.png CorporateMilestones 40 1 62 -40 0 firstDisabledEmployee 1914 IBM hires its first employee with a disability—59 years before the passage of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and 76 years before the Americans with Disabilities Act. firstDisabledEmployee firstDisabledEmployee.jpg BusinessLeadership CorporateMilestones 39 .9 -168 -41 0 france 1914 CTR establishes a branch of the International Time Recording Company in Paris, France. Six years later, Watson Sr. will establish a new company—Société Internationale de Machines Commerciales—to promote CTR tabulating machines in 10 European countries. france france.jpg InternationalScope 48 0 25 -14 0 thomasJWatson 1914 Watson Sr. joins CTR as general manager. The next year he is elected president of the company. thomasJWatson thomasJWatson.png CorporateMilestones 58 .5 -82 107 0 ibmBand 1915 At Thomas Watson Sr.’s behest, five Endicott employees form a band to perform at a CTR sales convention. A year later, 32 employees will formally organize a concert band, starting a musical tradition that will last until 2001, when the IBM Band in Endicott plays its final notes. ibmBand ibmBand.png ProgressiveWorkplace 67 .1 295 105 0 think 1915 Recognizing the motivational potential of the word “THINK” even before joining CTR, Thomas Watson Sr. takes steps immediately upon arrival to ingrain the concept into company culture. The word quickly becomes synonymous with IBM. Appearing on materials that range from plaques to banners to employee publications, “THINK” remains a ubiquitous part of life at IBM into the 21st century. think think.png CorporateMilestones ProgressiveWorkplace FeaturedEvents 45 0 117 111 0 -.1 1.1 brazil 1917 IBM appoints its first sales representative in Brazil. The country’s operations grow rapidly in size and scope, and in the 1930s IBM opens manufacturing facilities in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. brazil brazil.jpg InternationalScope 42 .1 -122 82 0 charitableContributions 1918 This list of CTR’s diverse charitable contributions demonstrates philanthropic leadership and commitment to the community dating back to the company’s earliest years. charitableContributions charitableContributions.png ProgressiveWorkplace 76 1 440 128 50 firstPrintingTabulator 1920 The printing tabulator is introduced by CTR. It not only improves speed and accuracy, but also sets the stage for further mechanization of the tabulation process. firstPrintingTabulator firstPrintingTabulator.jpg TechnologyAdvances 122 1 -315 30 -50 southAfrica 1921 CTR equipment is used in the South Africa national census. Although the company will not appoint a general manager for the country until 1951, IBM products form a familiar part of the South African business landscape throughout the intervening decades. southAfrica southAfrica.jpg InternationalScope 63 .7 -312 -77 -50 ibmCard 1923 CTR introduces the first electric key punch, setting its tabulating equipment apart from its competitors’ mechanically-driven systems. Five years later, the company—by then known as IBM—will introduce a revolutionary 80-column punch card design. The “IBM Card” becomes an industry standard. ibmCard ibmCard.png TechnologyAdvances 55 .3 -334 140 -30 ibmIsNamed 1924 The Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company is renamed International Business Machines Corporation (IBM). The company has operated under the IBM name in Canada since 1917. ibmIsNamed ibmIsNamed.jpg CorporateMilestones 98 1 193 54 0 quarterCenturyClub 1924 Thomas Watson Sr. establishes the Quarter Century Club (QCC), recognizing employees with 25 years of service. Inaugural employees to the QCC include four women and an African-American. quarterCenturyClub quarterCenturyClub.jpg CorporateMilestones ProgressiveWorkplace 36 .7 -53 80 0 japan 1925 IBM appoints its first sales representative in Japan, and a tableware manufacturer becomes the site of the first IBM tabulating machine installation. japan japan.jpg InternationalScope 106 0 407 -60 50 hundredPercentClub 1925 The first meeting of the Hundred Percent Club, composed of IBM sales representatives who have met their annual quotas, convenes in Atlantic City, New Jersey. hundredPercentClub hundredPercentClub.jpg CorporateMilestones ProgressiveWorkplace 35 .5 102 10 0 china 1928 An agency is appointed to represent IBM in China. In 1934, the first IBM tabulating equipment will install at Peking Union Medical College in Peiping (Beijing), and two years later IBM China will establish, with headquarters in Shanghai. china china.jpg InternationalScope 52 .6 -117 -35 0 ibmBaseballTeam 1929 IBM Endicott forms an employee baseball team to participate in a town league. Over the years, IBM will engage with the sport in many ways, ranging from product lines (IBM-produced stadium scoreboards) to services engagements (analysis of baseball statistics) to marketing opportunities (tabulating All-Star ballots). ibmBaseballTeam ibmBaseballTeam.png ProgressiveWorkplace 36 0 -145 -9 0 netherlands 1930 Just 10 years after appointing its first sales agent in the Netherlands, IBM sponsors a lavish exhibit to show off its wares at a Dutch trade show. netherlands netherlands.jpg InternationalScope 46 .4 134 -41 0 ibmSchoolhouse 1933 IBM dedicates its Schoolhouse and Engineering Laboratory buildings in Endicott, New York. The front entrance of the Schoolhouse is engraved with Watson Sr.’s famous Five Steps to Knowledge: “Read, Listen, Discuss, Observe, Think.” ibmSchoolhouse ibmSchoolhouse.jpg CorporateMilestones 110 .1 -410 -39 -65 405AccountingMachine 1934 IBM introduces the 405 Accounting Machine. It will remain the company’s flagship product until it is taken out of production in 1949. 405AccountingMachine 405AccountingMachine.png TechnologyAdvances 41 .6 208 -40 0 ibmEliminatesPiecework 1934 IBM places all factory employees on salary, eliminating piecework and providing its workforce an added degree of economic stability. A group life insurance plan is also initiated for employees, marking the beginning of IBM’s pioneering employee benefits programs. ibmEliminatesPiecework ibmEliminatesPiecework.jpg BusinessLeadership CorporateMilestones ProgressiveWorkplace 63 .1 -212 95 0 electromaticTypewriter 1935 IBM markets the first commercially successful electric typewriter, the Electromatic. The company will produce typewriters until 1990. electromaticTypewriter electromaticTypewriter.jpg TechnologyAdvances 53 0 242 97 0 firstClass 1935 Under the innovative and visionary leadership of IBM’s Anne Van Vechten, the company holds its inaugural systems service engineering class for women. The class, which trains employees for professional-level positions, marks the start of an increased business role for women at IBM. firstClass firstClass.jpg ImpactOnDailyLife CorporateMilestones ProgressiveWorkplace 100 .85 308 8 40 thinkMagazine 1935 The first issue of THINK® is published. A magazine for IBM employees and clients, it features articles on such wide-ranging topics as education, science, art and international relations. thinkMagazine thinkMagazine.png CorporateMilestones ProgressiveWorkplace 68 .4 401 67 40 socialSecurity 1936 IBM installs punched-card equipment to support administration of the U.S. Social Security Act of 1935. The project requires the creation and maintenance of employment records for 26 million Americans. socialSecurity socialSecurity.png ImpactOnDailyLife CorporateMilestones FeaturedEvents 160 1 -70 38 0 .6 .05 _assets/_gallery/SocialSecurity/