Jump to content

Burroughs Corporation

From Alfawiki
Burroughs Corporation
Formerly
  • American Arithmometer Company (1886–1904)
  • Burroughs Adding Machine Company (1904–1953)
Industry
Founded1886; 140 years ago (1886)
FounderWilliam Seward Burroughs I
DefunctTemplate:End date and age
FateMerged with the Sperry Corporation
SuccessorUnisys
HeadquartersSt. Louis, Missouri, U.S.

The Burroughs Corporation was a prominent American producer of business machinery, established in 1886 as the American Arithmometer Company by William Seward Burroughs I. Initially focused on mechanical adding machine manufacturing, the company progressed to programmable ledgers and ultimately mainframe computers, becoming one of the foremost global manufacturers in its sector. Its offerings later broadened to include typewriters and printing devices.

During the 1960s, Burroughs introduced mainframe computer systems noted for their superior high-level language capabilities, which became central to its operations throughout the 1970s. Competitive pressures from superminicomputers and IBM's market dominance prompted a strategic merger with rival Sperry Corporation in 1986, resulting in the formation of Unisys.

Early history

Originating in 1886 in St. Louis, Missouri, as the American Arithmometer Company, Burroughs was created to produce an adding machine invented by William Seward Burroughs (grandfather of author William S. Burroughs). Following a move to Detroit in 1904 and rebranding as Burroughs Adding Machine Company, it rapidly became the leading adding machine manufacturer in the United States.

Evolving product lines

Burroughs' early offerings featured the hand-operated Class 1 adding machine, equipped with innovative speed regulation and a comprehensive keyboard design that allowed precise data input and printed receipts for verification purposes. Later versions such as the Class 2 "duplex" enabled users to maintain two independent totals simultaneously, while the Class 6 introduced direct subtraction functionality tailored for bookkeeping needs.

Around 1910, through acquisitions like Pike Adding Machine Company, Burroughs incorporated enhancements including the Class 3 and Class 4 "visible" machines, which improved operator productivity by clearly displaying printed results.

By 1925, the company launched more compact portable models (Class 8 and Class 9), followed by machines featuring limited programmability via adjustable carriages. The product lineup further expanded with Series J ten-key calculators and electrically powered Series C comptometers.

In the late 1960s, Burroughs integrated electronic visual displays utilizing Nixie tubes and developed sophisticated adding machines such as the Sensimatic, capable of semi-automated business tasks including ledger control with programmable carriages capable of storing multiple balances. This technology advanced into the Sensitronic, which employed magnetic stripe cards for balance retention, eventually evolving into computer systems (E1000 through E8000) that supported card readers, punches, and line printers.

In addition to adding machines, Burroughs broadened its portfolio to encompass typewriters and various office equipment, thereby strengthening its position across diverse business markets.

Transition to Computing

The most significant transformation in the company's trajectory occurred in 1953 when the Burroughs Adding Machine Company rebranded as the Burroughs Corporation and shifted its focus toward digital computer systems, primarily serving the banking sector. This evolution gained momentum in 1956 with Burroughs' acquisition of ElectroData Corporation, a Pasadena-based offshoot of Consolidated Engineering Corporation affiliated with Caltech. ElectroData had developed the Datatron 205 and was advancing work on the Datatron 220. The initial major computer product resulting from this merger was the B205, a vacuum tube-based machine. By 1968, Burroughs introduced the L and TC series (such as the TC500 Terminal Computer), which incorporated early disk storage and golf ball printers. These models were widely adopted as branch terminals linked to larger B5500/6500/6700 mainframes and achieved strong sales within banking environments, frequently interfacing with non-Burroughs mainframe systems. In addition to computing devices, Burroughs produced extensive cheque processing machinery, typically integrated with medium to large systems like the B200/B300 and B2700/B1700.

During the 1950s, Burroughs partnered with the Federal Reserve Bank to develop magnetic ink character recognition (MICR) technology for cheque processing applications. The company manufactured MICR/OCR sorter-reader equipment compatible with their medium system computers (2700/3700/4700) as well as B200/B300 models, reinforcing its leadership in banking IT infrastructure.

Prominent Player in Computing

Throughout the 1960s, Burroughs was one of nine leading U.S. computer manufacturers alongside IBM (the dominant market leader), Honeywell, NCR, Control Data Corporation (CDC), General Electric (GE), Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC), RCA, and Sperry Rand (UNIVAC). Despite its considerable size, Burroughs remained well behind IBM, whose commanding market share earned the collective nickname "IBM and the Seven Dwarves." By 1972, following GE and RCA's withdrawal from mainframe production, the remaining five competitors—including Burroughs—became known by the acronym BUNCH, derived from their initials.

Burroughs maintained competitiveness by providing a broad range of products comparable to IBM’s offerings, including proprietary printers, disk drives, tape storage devices, computer paper, and typewriter ribbons—thus enhancing its position through integrated computing solutions tailored to its core markets.

Innovations and Technological Advances

The Burroughs Corporation was a pioneer of three distinct architectures based on "language-directed design", which optimized instruction sets specifically for high-level programming languages such as ALGOL, COBOL, and FORTRAN. All were designed as mainframe-class computers:

  • The Burroughs Large Systems lineage began with the B5000 in 1961 and continued through models like the B5500, B6500/B6700, B7700, and A series into the 1980s. These systems introduced the world’s first virtual memory multiprogramming operating system and later evolved into Unisys’ ClearPath MCP platform. Their stack machine architecture was tailored for extended Algol 60 support and ran MCP (Master Control Program), an OS written in ESPOL, DCALGOL, and subsequently NEWP—languages developed nearly ten years before Unix. The user interface employed WFL (Work Flow Language), a compiled structured scripting language.

These machines provided a secure operating environment featuring 48-bit stack-oriented processors that differentiated data from executable code. They supported modular designs with multiple CPUs, memory modules, and I/O processors—allowing scalable performance enhancements while maintaining cost efficiency and reliability. Burroughs Large Systems held a dominant position in critical fields such as banking—including servicing the Federal Reserve Bank—and constructed backbone switching infrastructure for Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), an ongoing client relationship managed by Unisys.

  • The Burroughs B2500 "medium systems" were designed for business users requiring efficient execution of COBOL programs through BCD arithmetic and base-10 addressing schemes. This product line later developed into Unisys’ V-Series (V340–V560).
  • The B1700 "small systems" utilized microprogramming to create virtual machines customized for specific programming languages.
  • The smallest general-purpose units—the B700 "microprocessors"—functioned either as independent computers or specialized controllers for data communication networks and disk subsystem management.
  • Additionally, Burroughs manufactured a diverse array of accounting machines and terminals including Sensimatic units, L500 models, B80 series devices, TC500 terminals, and cheque processing equipment.
  • In 1982, Burroughs entered the personal computing arena with its B20 and B25 series based on Intel 8086/8088 processors. These systems operated using BTOS (licensed from Convergent Technologies) and introduced early local area networking capabilities that allowed shared hard disk access among workgroups. Subsequent manufacturing transitioned under licensing agreements to Kunming, China.
  • In collaboration with the University of Illinois during the early 1960s, Burroughs contributed to the multiprocessor ILLIAC IV project featuring up to 128 parallel processors—significantly surpassing Burroughs’ own multiprocessor B6700/B7700 architectures.
  • Military applications also represented a key focus; at its Great Valley Laboratory in Paoli, Pennsylvania, Burroughs developed defense-grade computers such as the D825 multiprocessor system—recognized as one of the earliest true multiprocessor machines. This facility also housed the Defense and Space Group Marketing Division.
  • The D830 model targeted real-time operational environments like airline reservation systems. After initial reliability challenges with Trans World Airlines’ (TWA) "George" system in the late 1960s led to project cancellation in favor of IBM solutions, legal disputes between Burroughs and TWA were resolved privately.
  • The half-sized D82 processor supported up to 32,768 words of core memory alongside separate instruction and I/O processors; Air Canada utilized this system for reservations processing. This design evolved into the compact D84 model (completed in 1965), occupying merely 1.4 cubic feet. The D84 powered military projects including electronics testing for the Air Force F-111 fighter jet and launch control operations for Army Pershing missile systems.

These technological achievements demonstrate Burroughs’ strategic role in delivering secure and scalable computing platforms across sectors such as commercial banking, military defense, and airline industries—fortifying its influence and competitive edge within mainframe computing markets.

Merger with Sperry

In September 1986, Burroughs Corporation combined forces with Sperry Corporation, resulting in the creation of Unisys. At the outset, the merged entity continued to offer Burroughs processors through its A- and V-systems product lines. However, as industry trends moved away from proprietary hardware architectures toward standardized server platforms, Unisys gradually discontinued the V-Series, although these systems remained in use by some clients. To this day, Unisys continues to develop and market the A-Series under the ClearPath brand.

Burroughs Payment Systems

In 2010, Unisys sold its Payment Systems Division to Marlin Equity Partners, a private equity firm based in California. Following this acquisition, the division was renamed Burroughs Payment Systems, Inc. before adopting the name Burroughs, Inc. in 2012. The company is headquartered in Plymouth, Michigan and specializes in providing payment processing technologies as a core aspect of its business operations.

References in popular culture

Burroughs B205 equipment was commonly utilized as set pieces in Hollywood television shows and movies starting in the late 1950s. For example, a B205 console served as the Bat Computer on Batman and functioned as the flight computer in Lost in Space. Additionally, B205 tape drives were featured in series such as The Time Tunnel and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. Burroughs machinery also appeared in the motion picture The Angry Red Planet.

Further reading

External links

Retrieved from "https://www.alfawiki.org/index.php?title=Burroughs_Corporation&oldid=7368"