Although IBM was incorporated in the state of New York on June 15, 1911 as the Computing- Tabulating- Recording Company (C-T-R), its origins can be traced back to developments at the close of the 19th century. For example, the first dial recorder was invented by Dr. Alexander Dey in 1888, and Dey’s business became one of the building blocks of C-T-R. Similarly, the Bundy Manufacturing Company was incorporated in 1889 as the first time recording company in the world, and it, too, later became a key component of C-T-R.
In the years following World War I, C-T-R’s engineering and research staff developed new and improved mechanisms to meet the broadening needs of its customers. In 1920, the company introduced the lock autograph recorder, the first complete school time control system, and launched the Electric Accounting Machine. In 1921, the company acquired the business of the Ticketograph Company of Chicago, and certain patents and other property of the Peirce Accounting Machine Company. The Carroll Rotary Press was developed in 1924 to produce cards at high speed, and punched card capacity was doubled.
C-T-R employee with scale The growth and extension of C-T-R’s activities made the old name of the company too limited, and, on February 14, 1924, C-T-R’s name was formally changed to International Business Machines Corporation. By then, the company’s business had expanded both geographically and functionally, including the completion of three manufacturing facilities in Europe. © 2006 IBM
