Monroe Calculator Company
Encyclopedia
The Monroe Calculator Company was a leading maker of adding machines and calculator
s founded in 1912 by Jay R. Monroe and now known as Monroe Systems for Business. The company was also known as Monroe Calculating Machine Company, Monroe THE Calculator Company, and Monroe Division of Litton Industries.
. In 1958, the company was acquired by Litton Industries
. Litton sold it in 1984. In the mid-1980s, the company diversified and began carrying a line of private-labeled copiers (manufactured by Mita Corp.) and cross-cut paper shredders, but those items have been discontinued.
In the 1970s and 1980s, the company had some 300 sales and service branch offices in the United States. In 1972, Monroe announced a pocket-sized electronic display calculator at $269. As low cost electronic calculators from Japan
became readily available through retail distribution, the mechanical calculator companies like Monroe, Friden
, and Marchant
declined even as they introduced programmable calculator
s.
Calculator
An electronic calculator is a small, portable, usually inexpensive electronic device used to perform the basic operations of arithmetic. Modern calculators are more portable than most computers, though most PDAs are comparable in size to handheld calculators.The first solid-state electronic...
s founded in 1912 by Jay R. Monroe and now known as Monroe Systems for Business. The company was also known as Monroe Calculating Machine Company, Monroe THE Calculator Company, and Monroe Division of Litton Industries.
History
For many years, Monroe was headquartered in Orange, New Jersey & Morris Plains, New Jersey with its manufacturing plants in New Jersey and AmsterdamAmsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
. In 1958, the company was acquired by Litton Industries
Litton Industries
Named after inventor Charles Litton, Sr., Litton Industries was a large defense contractor in the United States, bought by the Northrop Grumman Corporation in 2001.-History:...
. Litton sold it in 1984. In the mid-1980s, the company diversified and began carrying a line of private-labeled copiers (manufactured by Mita Corp.) and cross-cut paper shredders, but those items have been discontinued.
In the 1970s and 1980s, the company had some 300 sales and service branch offices in the United States. In 1972, Monroe announced a pocket-sized electronic display calculator at $269. As low cost electronic calculators from Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
became readily available through retail distribution, the mechanical calculator companies like Monroe, Friden
Friden, Inc.
Friden Calculating Machine Company was an American manufacturer of typewriters and electronic calculators. It was founded by Carl Friden in San Leandro, California in 1934. Friden electromechanical calculators were robust and popular....
, and Marchant
Marchant Calculator
The Marchant Calculating Machine Co. was founded in 1911 by Rodney and Alfred Marchant in Oakland, California.The company built mechanical, and then electromechanical calculators which had a reputation for reliability. First models were similar to the Odhner arithmometer. In 1918, employee Carl...
declined even as they introduced programmable calculator
Programmable calculator
Programmable calculators are calculators that can automatically carry out a sequence of operations under control of a stored program, much like a computer. The first programmable calculators such as the IBM CPC used punched cards or other media for program storage...
s.
Products
- Hand-crank models; almost all manual models had an electrically driven version. The most famous and successful machine was the "Series L", produced since 30s until 60s in several variants and models
- Electromechanical models; rotary calculator display models and printing models
- Model 145 was the last adding machine model produced.
- Model 570 was the last electro-mechanical four function calculator model produced.
- Electronic calculator models
- Visual Display only
- 400 and 600 series
- Paper tape and visual display
- 1300 and 1400 series
- Programmable models
- 1300 and 1400 series
- The 1600 and 1800 series calculators, from OEMOriginal Equipment ManufacturerAn original equipment manufacturer, or OEM, manufactures products or components that are purchased by a company and retailed under that purchasing company's brand name. OEM refers to the company that originally manufactured the product. When referring to automotive parts, OEM designates a...
Compucorp competed against similar desktop calculators from Wang LaboratoriesWang LaboratoriesWang Laboratories was a computer company founded in 1951 by Dr. An Wang and Dr. G. Y. Chu. The company was successively headquartered in Cambridge , Tewksbury , and finally in Lowell, Massachusetts . At its peak in the 1980s, Wang Laboratories had annual revenues of $3 billion and employed over...
. - Model 200 billing machine for accounts receivable functions.
Further reading
- New York Times; December 2, 1964, Wednesday; The division of Litton Industries in The Monroe International introduced an electronic desk-top calculator yesterday that it hopes will fill the market gap between adding machines and computers.
- New York Times; August 17, 1969, Sunday; Tiny Calculator in Production. The Monroe division of Litton Industries, Inc., has begun production of what it describes as the smallest cathode ray tube desk calculator in the world. Donald A. McMahon, president, said the new unit, which weighs 14 pounds and measures 11 inches wide by 17 inches deep, is made entirely in this country with no parts from foreign countries.