Bill Hewlett
William Redington Hewlett | |
|---|---|
| Born | Template:Birth date Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S. |
| Died | January 12, 2001 (aged 87) Palo Alto, California, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Engineer, entrepreneur |
| Known for | Co-founder of Hewlett-Packard |
William Redington Hewlett (May 20, 1913 – January 12, 2001) was an American engineer and entrepreneur who co-established the Hewlett-Packard Company (HP) alongside David Packard.
Early life and education
Born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Hewlett’s father was a faculty member at the University of Michigan Medical School. The family relocated to San Francisco in 1916 when his father accepted a similar academic role at Stanford Medical School. Hewlett attended Lowell High School, where he served as Battalion Commander of the Army JROTC during 1929–1930. His admission to Stanford University was partly influenced by a tribute to his father, who had passed away in 1925.
He completed his undergraduate studies at Stanford in 1934, followed by a Master of Science degree in electrical engineering from the MIT in 1936. Hewlett further attained an advanced engineering degree from Stanford in 1939. During his university years, he became a member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity.
Hewlett-Packard
While studying at Stanford under Frederick Terman, Hewlett met David Packard. Their conversations about starting a business began in August 1937, culminating in the official creation of Hewlett-Packard on January 1, 1939. The sequence of their names was decided by a coin toss. Their initial significant achievement involved selling eight audio oscillators to Disney for use in the film Fantasia (1940).
The company was incorporated in 1947 and went public a decade later in 1957. Hewlett and Packard cultivated what became known as the HP Way—a corporate philosophy that balanced employee respect with business success. In 1954, Hewlett held the presidency of the Institute of Radio Engineers.
He led HP as president from 1964 to 1977 and as CEO between 1968 and 1978, after which John A. Young took over. Hewlett continued as chairman of the executive committee until 1983 and served as vice chairman of the board until 1987.
A young Steve Jobs contacted Hewlett seeking parts for constructing a frequency counter; impressed by Jobs’ enthusiasm, Hewlett offered him a summer position assembling such devices. Jobs later recognized HP as one of the rare companies designed “to last, not just to make money.” Meanwhile, Steve Wozniak made five attempts to market the Apple I computer to HP during his tenure there; although HP declined these proposals, early Apple models incorporated licensed HP components. Hewlett reportedly commented on this missed opportunity: "You win some, you lose some."
Military service
During World War II, Hewlett served as an officer in the Army Signal Corps, heading the electronics division within the War Department Special Staff's Development Division. Post-war, he participated in inspections of Japanese industrial facilities.
Other companies
From 1956 to 1965, Hewlett acted as a Director at Hexcel Products Incorporated (later known simply as Hexcel), a company founded by a relative of his wife, also participating on its executive committee. Additionally, he held board positions at Chase Manhattan Bank (later JPMorgan Chase) from 1969 through 1980 and at Chrysler Corporation between 1966 and 1983.
Philanthropy
Beginning in the 1960s, Hewlett devoted considerable resources and effort toward charitable causes. In 1966, together with his wife Flora, he founded the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, which stands as one of the largest private philanthropic organizations in the United States. Hewlett contributed substantial funds to a variety of educational institutions, museums, and nonprofit organizations, with Stanford University being a key recipient of his generosity.
Personal life
Hewlett wed Flora Lamson in 1939, and the couple had five children along with twelve grandchildren. Following Flora’s passing in 1977, he remarried Rosemary Kopmeier Bradford in 1978.
A passionate advocate for conservation and an enthusiastic outdoorsman, Hewlett engaged in amateur photography and botany. He donated numerous wildflower photographs and specimens to the California Academy of Sciences.
He passed away from heart failure on January 12, 2001, in Palo Alto, California, at age 87. His final resting place is at Los Gatos Memorial Park in San Jose, California.
Legacy
In recognition of his contributions, Stanford named the William R. Hewlett Teaching Center after him in 1999. This facility is situated within the Science and Engineering Quad, close to the David Packard Electrical Engineering Building.
Awards
- Elected Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1970)
- Recipient of the IEEE Founders Medal (1973)
- Awarded the Vermilye Medal (1975)
- Member of the National Academy of Sciences (1977)
- Honored with the Golden Plate Award from the American Academy of Achievement (1981)
- Inducted into the American Philosophical Society (1981)
- Awarded the National Medal of Science (1983)
- Inductee into the National Inventors Hall of Fame (1992)
- Lifetime Achievement Award from the Lemelson-MIT Prize (1995)
- Co-recipient (with David Packard) of the 3rd Annual Heinz Award Chairman's Medal (1997)
- Posthumously inducted into the Entrepreneur Walk of Fame (2011)
External links
- Bill Hewlett Remembered by Bob Lewis (InfoWorld, January 22, 2001)
- Thoemmes Encyclopedia article on William Hewlett
- Official biography at HP website
- Official biography at Hewlett Foundation website
- The HP Way
- Robert J. Scully and Marlan O. Scully, "William Redington Hewlett", Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences (2004)
- Collections