American Arithmometer Company

American Arithmometer Company

Founded	St. Louis, Missouri, United States (1886)
Defunct	1905
Successor	Burroughs Adding Machine Company
Headquarters	St. Louis, Missouri , United States

The American Arithmometer Company was established in 1886 in St. Louis, Missouri by William S. Burroughs and specialized in manufacturing adding machines.

History

Born in Rochester, New York, in 1855, William S. Burroughs relocated to St. Louis due to health concerns after his tenure in the banking sector. There, he became affiliated with the Boyer Machine Shop, where he conceptualized his adding machine design. In 1885, Burroughs secured a patent for an adding and listing machine featuring a full keyboard. Subsequently, on January 20, 1886, he co-founded the American Arithmometer Company alongside Thomas Metcalfe, Richard M. Scruggs, and William R. Pye. Initial products launched in 1889 faced reliability issues; however, by 1891, enhanced models were introduced.

By 1894, the Burroughs Registering Accountant had gained recognition for boosting banking operations efficiency. This device incorporated an 81-key keyboard and utilized an inked ribbon for printing. In 1895, sales reached 284 units, coinciding with the company's international expansion through the creation of Burroughs Adding and Registering Company Limited in Nottingham, England. By 1898, the Nottingham facility became the first manufacturing site outside the United States. That same year marked the beginning of dividend payments, initiating a streak of over one hundred consecutive years of dividends.

By the turn of the century in 1900, Burroughs machines were extensively employed by major banks in New York and over 5,000 financial institutions worldwide. Internal disputes among management led to President Edmund G. Langhorne departing with half of the staff to establish Universal Adding Machine in St. Louis. Subsequently, Joseph Boyer assumed leadership of American Arithmometer in 1902.

In 1905, the company’s successor entity, Burroughs Adding Machine Company, was formed and relocated its operations to Detroit, Michigan. There, it erected a new manufacturing plant spanning 70,304 square feet on land owned by the Ferry Seed Company. The entire workforce transferred from St. Louis to Detroit aboard a specially arranged train named the "Clover Leaf Express." By October 1906, Burroughs reported that over 40,000 machines were operational within more than 30,000 businesses and claimed that its products accounted for ninety percent of all adding machines sold.

Electric models were introduced by Burroughs around 1906, with prices varying between $300 and $500 depending on specifications. By 1907, the company had produced its 50,000th machine and announced annual sales exceeding those of all competitors combined. In 1908, Burroughs offered a lineup of 58 models designed to meet diverse business requirements—capable of handling various units of measurement and specialized tasks—and asserted that nine out of every ten adding machines in use were theirs. That year also saw acquisitions including Universal Adding Machine Co., followed by Pike Adding Machine Co., broadening their product range to include visible adding machines.

During the early decades of the twentieth century, despite facing competition from key-driven calculators and other adding-listing machine manufacturers such as Dalton, Pike, Standard, Universal, and Wales, Burroughs retained its market leadership through continuous innovation and a wide product selection. While competitors presented visible printers and alternative keyboard configurations, Burroughs focused on full keyboards paired with extensive model diversity.

Between 1910 and 1911, Burroughs expanded its portfolio to over seventy models priced from $175 to $850 and launched visible adding machines inspired by Pike designs as well as key-driven calculators similar to rival offerings. Legal disputes culminated in design alterations and acquisition limitations following an antitrust case filed in 1914.

By 1916 nearly one hundred models were available; portable unit sales reached 100,000 by 1928; and by 1935 approximately 450 standard models were offered.

Although Burroughs passed away in 1898 before realizing significant financial gain from his invention commercially, he was posthumously honored with the John Scott Medal awarded by the Franklin Institute for his impactful contribution to business technology advancement.