Peter Lymburner Robertson (1879–1951) was a Canadian inventor, industrialist, salesman, and philanthropist who popularized the square-socket drive for screws (often called the Robertson drive). Although a square-socket drive had been conceived decades before (having been patented in 1875 by one Allan Cummings of New York City), it had never been developed into a commercial success, and Robertson's efficient manufacturing technique using cold forming for the screw's head is what made the idea a commercial success. He produced his screws (patented in Canada in 1909) in his Milton, Ontario

Milton, Ontario

Milton is a town in Southern Ontario, Canada, and part of the Halton Region in the Greater Toronto Area. Milton received a tremendous amount of awareness following the release of the results of the 2006 Census, which indicated that Milton is the fastest growing municipality in the Greater Golden...

 factory starting in 1908. The brand has been sold over the years, and the manufacturing for the present corporation (Robertson Inc) is done in Jiaxing, Zhejiang, China; but the Milton, Ontario, building is still a head office.

Robertson also wrote a book (short title The Remedy, 1932) which suggested a strategy to end 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...

. It discussed topics including national debts, currencies, and the gold standard

Gold standard

The gold standard is a monetary system in which the standard economic unit of account is a fixed mass of gold. There are distinct kinds of gold standard...

.

Robertson was born in 1879 in Seneca Township, Ontario. As a salesman for a Philadelphia tool company in eastern Canadian sales territories, he was demonstrating tools one day when his straight-bladed screwdriver slipped and cut his hand (a common mishap with the straight slot design). This prompted him to design a different drive for screws that would slip less, leading to his square-socket drive.

Robertson is still remembered by the school in Milton, Ontario, named after him, P.L. Robertson Public School (K-8).

External links

• Peter Lymburner Robertson at collectionscanada.gc.ca