June 16, 1911 — Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company Founded, the Future IBM

IBM is, without exaggeration, one of the greatest companies in the history of information technology. Although ordinary users have rarely interacted directly with its products — which is fitting given the name International Business Machines — its influence on the development of the entire industry is hard to overstate.

The company’s original name, Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (CTR), already sounded somewhat dated even at the time it was founded. It was effectively created by financier Charles Flint. He noticed that several companies were serving the same customers while selling different kinds of equipment. Tabulating Machine Company produced punched-card tabulators, International Time Recording manufactured employee timekeeping systems, and Computing Scale Company made commercial scales.

Rather than having these businesses compete separately for the same customers’ budgets, Flint saw an opportunity to create a larger company that could provide all of these products under one roof. He raised bank financing, acquired controlling stakes in all three companies, and merged them into CTR. This was a common practice in American business at the time, when many firms were being consolidated into large trusts.

In 1914, Thomas J. Watson Sr. became the head of the company. He recognized that data processing and the automation of calculations were by far the most promising part of the business Flint had assembled, and he focused the company on that direction. Watson also introduced the famous THINK slogan, which IBM still uses today. Under his leadership, the company grew into the corporate giant for which it became known.

In 1924, the company was renamed IBM.