Laurens Hammond
Encyclopedia
Laurens Hammond was an American engineer
and inventor. His inventions include, most famously, the Hammond organ
, the Hammond Clock
, and the world's first polyphonic musical synthesizer, the Novachord
.
, to William Andrew and Idea Louise Strong Hammond. Laurens showed his great technical prowess from an early age. His father, William, took his own life in 1898, ostensibly due to the pressures of running the First National Bank, which he himself had founded. Upon her husband's death, Idea, who was an artist by trade, relocated to France with Laurens to further her studies. It was during their stay in France that Laurens began developing many of his early inventions.
and German
as he was in his native tongue. By this time, he had already designed a system for automatic transmission
for automobile
s. At his mother's suggestion, he submitted his designs to engineers at French automaker Renault
, only to be rejected.
at Cornell University
and was a member of the Delta Upsilon
fraternity. He graduated with an honors degree in 1916. At this time most thoughts were concentrated on the ongoing World War I
, and Laurens made his contribution to the war effort serving his time with the 16th Regiment Engineers (Railway) American Expeditionary Force
in France
.
, where he was fortunate to occupy the post of chief engineer of the Gray Motor Company, a manufacturer of marine engines. In 1919, he invented a silent spring-driven clock. This invention brought Laurens enough money to leave Gray Motor Company and rent his own space in New York
.
In 1922, Hammond invented the Teleview
system of shutter glasses in association with 3-D films. One feature was made for the system, a film called Radio-Mania, that year. Hammond premiered his show at the Selwyn Theatre in New York City in December 1922 to major critical success, but the economics of installing the expensive machinery in the theater prematurely killed the project's success.
In 1928, Hammond founded the Hammond Clock Company
, after designing a synchronous clock motor that was inspired by Henry Warren's Telechron
s, but was not self-starting. Hammond's clock business ran into difficulties in the early 1930s, and he struggled to save his business through a number of other inventions, such as an electric bridge table and, slightly later, his famous organ.
In 1933, he bought a used piano
and proceeded to discard everything apart from the actual keyboard action. Using this piano keyboard as a controller, he was able to experiment with various sound generating methods until he found the best one—the tonewheel generator. The company's assistant treasurer, W. L. Lahey, was the organist at the nearby St. Christopher's Episcopal Church, and so Laurens consulted with him during the design process and sought feedback on the quality of the new instrument's sound. With all his previous manufacturing and engineering experience, the tonewheel generator was incredibly well engineered by the time the organ finally went into production. The number of tonewheel organs still in regular use is a testament in itself to the quality of the original design and execution of the product.
Laurens filed his patent on January 19, 1934. At this time, unemployment was a major problem due to the Great Depression
, and with this in mind, the patents office rushed to grant Hammond's application, with the hope of creating job opportunities in the area.
He was awarded the Franklin Institute
's John Price Wetherill Medal in 1940 for the invention of the Hammond electric organ.
gave Laurens new areas in which to exhibit his technical skill. He helped design guided missile
controls and was awarded patents for infrared
and light sensing devices for bomb guidance, glide bomb controls, a camera shutter and a new type of gyroscope
. The glide bomb was the forerunner of today's guided missiles, carried by nuclear submarines.
By the time Laurens Hammond died, there were over thirty one manufacturers of electric or electronic organs. This figure would increase still further towards the end of the 1970s, as the demand for easy-play home organs grew to incredible proportions.
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
and inventor. His inventions include, most famously, the Hammond organ
Hammond organ
The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard...
, the Hammond Clock
Hammond Clock Company
The Hammond Clock Company of Chicago, Illinois, produced electric clocks between 1928 and 1941. It was one of the ventures of Laurens Hammond, the inventor of the famous Hammond organ.-The Invention of the Hammond Clock Motor:...
, and the world's first polyphonic musical synthesizer, the Novachord
Novachord
The Novachord is often considered to be the world's first commercial polyphonic synthesizer. All-electronic, incorporating many circuit and control elements found in modern synths, and using subtractive synthesis to generate tones, it was designed by John M. Hanert, Laurens Hammond and C. N....
.
Youth
Laurens Hammond was born in Evanston, IllinoisEvanston, Illinois
Evanston is a suburban municipality in Cook County, Illinois 12 miles north of downtown Chicago, bordering Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, and Wilmette to the north, with an estimated population of 74,360 as of 2003. It is one of the North Shore communities that adjoin Lake Michigan...
, to William Andrew and Idea Louise Strong Hammond. Laurens showed his great technical prowess from an early age. His father, William, took his own life in 1898, ostensibly due to the pressures of running the First National Bank, which he himself had founded. Upon her husband's death, Idea, who was an artist by trade, relocated to France with Laurens to further her studies. It was during their stay in France that Laurens began developing many of his early inventions.
Early inventions
When the family returned to Evanston, Laurens, then 14, was as fluent in FrenchFrench language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
and German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
as he was in his native tongue. By this time, he had already designed a system for automatic transmission
Automatic transmission
An automatic transmission is one type of motor vehicle transmission that can automatically change gear ratios as the vehicle moves, freeing the driver from having to shift gears manually...
for automobile
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
s. At his mother's suggestion, he submitted his designs to engineers at French automaker Renault
Renault
Renault S.A. is a French automaker producing cars, vans, and in the past, autorail vehicles, trucks, tractors, vans and also buses/coaches. Its alliance with Nissan makes it the world's third largest automaker...
, only to be rejected.
University
Laurens studied mechanical engineeringMechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering is a discipline of engineering that applies the principles of physics and materials science for analysis, design, manufacturing, and maintenance of mechanical systems. It is the branch of engineering that involves the production and usage of heat and mechanical power for the...
at Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
and was a member of the Delta Upsilon
Delta Upsilon
Delta Upsilon is the sixth oldest international, all-male, college Greek-letter organization, and is the oldest non-secret fraternity in North America...
fraternity. He graduated with an honors degree in 1916. At this time most thoughts were concentrated on the ongoing World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, and Laurens made his contribution to the war effort serving his time with the 16th Regiment Engineers (Railway) American Expeditionary Force
American Expeditionary Force
The American Expeditionary Forces or AEF were the United States Armed Forces sent to Europe in World War I. During the United States campaigns in World War I the AEF fought in France alongside British and French allied forces in the last year of the war, against Imperial German forces...
in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
Inventions
Following this, he moved to DetroitDetroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
, where he was fortunate to occupy the post of chief engineer of the Gray Motor Company, a manufacturer of marine engines. In 1919, he invented a silent spring-driven clock. This invention brought Laurens enough money to leave Gray Motor Company and rent his own space in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
In 1922, Hammond invented the Teleview
Teleview
Teleview was a process for producing stereoscopic motion pictures, invented in 1922 by Cornell University graduates Laurens Hammond and William F. Cassidy...
system of shutter glasses in association with 3-D films. One feature was made for the system, a film called Radio-Mania, that year. Hammond premiered his show at the Selwyn Theatre in New York City in December 1922 to major critical success, but the economics of installing the expensive machinery in the theater prematurely killed the project's success.
In 1928, Hammond founded the Hammond Clock Company
Hammond Clock Company
The Hammond Clock Company of Chicago, Illinois, produced electric clocks between 1928 and 1941. It was one of the ventures of Laurens Hammond, the inventor of the famous Hammond organ.-The Invention of the Hammond Clock Motor:...
, after designing a synchronous clock motor that was inspired by Henry Warren's Telechron
Telechron
Telechron is the name of a US company that manufactured electric clocks between 1912 and 1992. "Telechron" is derived from the Greek words , meaning "far off," and , "time," thus referring to the transmission of time over long distances. The idea behind Telechron clocks was, indeed, to tie...
s, but was not self-starting. Hammond's clock business ran into difficulties in the early 1930s, and he struggled to save his business through a number of other inventions, such as an electric bridge table and, slightly later, his famous organ.
In 1933, he bought a used piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
and proceeded to discard everything apart from the actual keyboard action. Using this piano keyboard as a controller, he was able to experiment with various sound generating methods until he found the best one—the tonewheel generator. The company's assistant treasurer, W. L. Lahey, was the organist at the nearby St. Christopher's Episcopal Church, and so Laurens consulted with him during the design process and sought feedback on the quality of the new instrument's sound. With all his previous manufacturing and engineering experience, the tonewheel generator was incredibly well engineered by the time the organ finally went into production. The number of tonewheel organs still in regular use is a testament in itself to the quality of the original design and execution of the product.
Laurens filed his patent on January 19, 1934. At this time, unemployment was a major problem due to the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, and with this in mind, the patents office rushed to grant Hammond's application, with the hope of creating job opportunities in the area.
He was awarded the Franklin Institute
Franklin Institute
The Franklin Institute is a museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and one of the oldest centers of science education and development in the United States, dating to 1824. The Institute also houses the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial.-History:On February 5, 1824, Samuel Vaughn Merrick and...
's John Price Wetherill Medal in 1940 for the invention of the Hammond electric organ.
Military
World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
gave Laurens new areas in which to exhibit his technical skill. He helped design guided missile
Guided Missile
Guided Missile is a London based independent record label set up by Paul Kearney in 1994.Guided Missile has always focused on 'the underground', preferring to put out a steady flow of releases and developing the numerous GM events around London and beyond....
controls and was awarded patents for infrared
Infrared
Infrared light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength longer than that of visible light, measured from the nominal edge of visible red light at 0.74 micrometres , and extending conventionally to 300 µm...
and light sensing devices for bomb guidance, glide bomb controls, a camera shutter and a new type of gyroscope
Gyroscope
A gyroscope is a device for measuring or maintaining orientation, based on the principles of angular momentum. In essence, a mechanical gyroscope is a spinning wheel or disk whose axle is free to take any orientation...
. The glide bomb was the forerunner of today's guided missiles, carried by nuclear submarines.
Retirement
Laurens Hammond left his position as president of his company in 1955, to allow himself more time to concentrate on researching and developing new ideas. On February 12, 1960, at the age of 65, he retired. At the time of his retirement in 1960, he held 90 patents: he would be granted another 20 before his death.By the time Laurens Hammond died, there were over thirty one manufacturers of electric or electronic organs. This figure would increase still further towards the end of the 1970s, as the demand for easy-play home organs grew to incredible proportions.