George Laurer
George Joseph Laurer III | |
|---|---|
| Born | Template:Birth date New York City, U.S. |
| Died | December 5, 2019 (aged 94) |
| Occupation(s) | Engineer, inventor |
| Years active | 1951–1987 |
| Known for | Inventor of the Universal Product Code (UPC) |
George Joseph Laurer III (September 23, 1925 – December 5, 2019) was an American engineer affiliated with IBM's Research Triangle Park facility in North Carolina. He was the inventor behind the Universal Product Code (UPC) during the early 1970s, holding 28 patents. His work built upon the barcode idea originally conceived by Joe Woodland, developing the specific coding system and visual pattern.
Early life
Born in New York City, Laurer later relocated to Baltimore, Maryland, where his father served as an electrical engineer for the United States Navy. Despite suffering from polio in his adolescence, he was drafted into the United States Army during World War II. After completing his military duties, he pursued studies in radio and television repair before enrolling in college. Laurer earned his degree from the A. James Clark School of Engineering at the University of Maryland in 1951. Throughout his professional life, he maintained a strong interest in radio technology.
Career
Laurer dedicated 36 years to working at IBM, retiring in 1987. Beginning as a junior engineer in 1951, he rose to the position of senior engineer/scientist by 1969 at IBM's Research Triangle Park site. When assigned to develop barcodes suitable for grocery retail, he dismissed the initial circular bullseye pattern due to its printing complications and instead designed the vertical striped format that became the standard for UPCs. This design was proposed around 1971–72 and received approval from IBM leadership.
In partnership with Woodland and mathematician David Savir, Laurer enhanced the UPC by incorporating features such as a check digit to improve error detection. The IBM submission was accepted by the Uniform Grocery Product Code Council's Symbol Selection committee in 1973, enabling its broad adoption among grocery stores.
Laurer explained that the UPC's "guard bars" bear a resemblance to multiple instances of the number 6, which led to myths associating the code with the "number of the Beast." He clarified that these similarities were purely accidental and had no ties to religious or financial symbolism.
Legacy
Holding 25 patents and authoring 27 published Technical Disclosure Bulletins, Laurer's contributions were recognized with awards including the Raleigh Inventor of the Year in 1976 and IBM's Corporate Technical Achievement award in 1980.
By 2019, UPC barcodes were scanned more than six billion times daily, underscoring their essential role within retail environments and supply chain management.
Personal life
Laurer lived in Wendell, North Carolina until his passing in December 2019. His wife, Marilyn Slocum Laurer, died in 2013. The couple had four children.
Published journal articles
External links
- Innovation Hall of Fame Inductees, Clark School of Engineering, University of Maryland (1991)
- Alumni UMD Hall Of Fame Members (2000)
- How the barcode changed retailing (2017) BBC