The Sperry Gyroscope Company of Brooklyn, N.Y. was founded in 1910 by Elmer Ambrose Sperry (1860-1930) in order to develop, manufacture, and market his marine gyrostabilizer, gyrocompass, and high intensity search light. These gyroscopic-based inventions incorporated the principles of automatic guidance and feedback control which were central to the development of American high technology in the twentieth century.

Sperry Gyroscope soon became one of the nation's most important military contractors. In 1911, Elmer Sperry worked closely with Admiral David Taylor of the United States Navy in order to perfect his gyrocompass. The first gyrocompass was installed on the battleship Delaware and by 1915 it had become standard equipment on all navy ships. In 1913 the first gyrostabilizer was installed on the USS Worden.

After the outbreak of World War I, Elmer Sperry was asked to sit on the Naval Consulting Board, a position he held until 1925. During these years he and his son, Lawrence, worked closely with the Navy to develop and manufacture the first airplane stabilizer, gyrostabilized bomb sights, automatic fire control systems and anti-aircraft devices. In 1918 Lawrence Sperry set up his own company to manufacture the aerial torpedo, automatic pilot, and other airplane instruments. This firm operated until 1924, often competing with Sperry Gyroscope, until Lawrence died in a tragic airplane accident. During the 1920s the company began to sell its products abroad, as it opened a number of European and Japanese sales offices. During these years, it became known as the “Brain Mill for the Military” as its scientists and engineers developed airplane and marine instruments.

In the 1930s and 1940s, Sperry Gyroscope worked with scientists and engineers at Stanford University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to develop the microwave technology that was necessary for modern radar systems. During the Second World War, the company grew more than ten fold as it produced computer controlled and stabilized bomb sights for the B 17 and B 32 bombers, automatic pilots, computing fire control systems, mobile airborne radar equipment, and automated take off and landing systems. It soon outgrew its Brooklyn plant and the government built it a new facility at Lake Success, Long Island.

After the War, Sperry began to look to the civilian market as it sought to diversify and become less dependent on government contracts. In 1947 it acquired the New Holland Farm Machine Company. However, with the outbreak of the Cold War, the New Holland acquisition proved to be far less important than anticipated. Sperry Gyroscope continued to be primarily a miliary contractor. It played a major role in the development of guided missiles (the Nike Zeus and the Sparrow) and nuclear powered submarines (the Polaris and Poseidon). In 1955, recognizing that its future lay in high technology, Sperry Gyroscope merged with Remington Rand, a producer of office equipment and automated filing systems, which at the time was struggling financially but had recently acquired two of the nation's pioneering computer producers - the Eckert-Mauchly Computer Company and Engineering Research Associates. This merger provided Sperry with access to advanced computer technology which was to serve it well in the military sector. In the 1960s the company was a major contractor for the Mercury and Apollo Space programs as it helped develop the computerized command and control systems for the Atlas rocket and space satellites.

The Sperry Gyroscope Collection (1910-1970) 76 linear feet, has been divided into nine series:

Series I. Public Relations Department - Technical literature file (1915-1962) - this file includes copies of technical publications that describe the operating principles and specifications for marine and aeronautical equipment produced by the Sperry Gyroscope Company - the gyrocompass, the gyropilot, the high intensity search light, command and control system, klystron, and other microwave instruments. This file also includes product announcements, trade catalogs, and published articles.

Series II. Public Information and Advertising Department records (1939-1970) describe Sperry Gyroscope's various media campaigns. Included are the correspondence files of advertising department managers, department budgets, advertising schedules, product announcements, press releases, tear sheets, work folders, approvals, and newspaper clippings. Files also document Sperry's efforts to work with the United States military during the Second World War to produce a series of “Films for Defense.” Of particular interest are papers describing the company's efforts to help produce the motion pictures “The House on 92nd Street” and “The Road to Murmansk.” This series also includes a copy of an oral history interview with Hannibal Ford of the Ford Instrument Company.

Series III. Advertising Department vertical file (arranged alphabetically) contains printed as well as some manuscript documentation on most of Sperry Gyroscope's products. A typical file includes trade catalogs, product announcements, and often engineering reports - occasionally with blue prints. There are also materials describing Sperry's relations with the United States government during World War II.

Series IV. Lawrence Sperry Aircraft Company Records (1918-1927) papers include technical and sales correspondence, engineering drawings, and reports that document the development of the aerial torpedo, automatic pilot, airplane stabilizer, and other airplane instruments. Correspondence with representatives of the Navy's Air Service Department describes the Company's research, development, and testing programs. There are also a number of reports on test flights. Patent and licensing agreements describe the relationship between the Lawrence Sperry and Sperry Gyroscope companies as well as the agreements that both had with the Curtiss-Wright Aeronautical Company. The Sperry/Curtiss-Wright joint venture culminated with the inventions of the flying bomb (1917-1918) which placed Sperry controls on a Curtiss designed airplane.

Series V. Engineering Department reports (1942-1962) document the work of Sperry's engineering department. Important projects represented in these reports include: automatic pilots, computerized flight control systems, instrument controls for nuclear powered submarines (including the Poseidon), internal guidance systems for long-range and medium range missiles (including the Nike Zeus), and space satellite technology.

Series VI. Records of H.K. Rutherford, General Manager, Planning Division (1935-1960) represent the only surviving files from an operating department. These records document Sperry's relationship to its major military customers. Included are minutes of the General Manager's staff meetings, management committee, correspondence with military procurement officers and subcontractors. There are also files describing defense mobilization plans, military proposals, estimates of post-war aircraft production, and personnel policies.

Series VII. Sperry Corporation Financial records (1933-1967) include quarterly financial reports and statements, monthly operating reports, 10k financial statements, and long-range forecasts.

Series VIII. Patent and licensing records (1914-1965) include copies of Sperry's so-called “Blue ribbon patents”, printed patents, and files on patent interferences which focused on microwave technology and automatic flight control.

Series IX. Miscellaneous administrative records include charters and by-laws, a copy of Sperry Gyroscope's memorandum of association, and scattered board of director and stockholder meeting minutes (1950).

Copyright restrictions may apply.

Deposit of Unisys Corporation. The Sperry Gyroscope Company records at Hagley were for the most part assembled by the Advertising and Public Relations departments in order to provide historical documentation for the company's public relations efforts and media campaigns. Since throughout its history, Sperry sought to publicly identify itself as a pioneering high technology company, much of the collection is technically oriented. Unfortunately, given the way is was assembled - the original provenance was destroyed, as documents were pulled out of context and filed into a Public Relations Department vertical file.

May 20, 1994

Processed by Michael H. Nash