Thomas J. Watson
The IBM chairman who built a global tech giant while navigating controversial ties to Nazi Germany.
Thomas John Watson Sr. (February 17, 1874 – June 19, 1956) led IBM as its chairman and CEO from 1914 until his death, transforming it into a global powerhouse. His management style and corporate culture were shaped by the training he received under John Henry Patterson at NCR, and he built IBM into a formidable sales machine centered on punched card tabulating machines. During the 1930s and up through World War II, Watson authorized supplying Nazi Germany with data processing technology, and IBM cooperated with both the German and American war efforts, turning a profit from each. A self-made industrialist, he was among the wealthiest people of his era when he died in 1956.
Born in Campbell, New York, Watson was the only son and fifth child of Thomas and Jane Fulton White Watson. He grew up working on the family farm and attended District School Number Five before moving on to Addison Academy. After a single day of teaching, he quit and instead studied accounting and business for a year at the Miller School of Commerce in Elmira. In 1891, he took a bookkeeping job at a market for $6 a week. A year later, he began selling organs and pianos for a hardware store, eventually working alone for $10 weekly. When he realized commission would have paid him $70 a week, he quit and moved to Buffalo.
There, he briefly sold sewing machines for Wheeler and Wilson. After celebrating a sale with too much drink, he lost his horse, buggy, and samples, and was fired. He then worked for a disreputable huckster named C. B. Barron, who later absconded with the funds. Watson next opened a butcher shop that quickly failed, leaving him broke and jobless.
In November 1896, Watson was hired as a sales apprentice at NCR by branch manager John J. Range, who became a father figure and model for his sales approach. Under Range, Watson became the top salesman in the East, earning $100 a week. Four years later, he was assigned to run NCR’s struggling Rochester agency, where he used aggressive tactics—including sabotage—to create a monopoly. In 1912, NCR was convicted of violating the Sherman Antitrust Act, and Watson, along with Patterson and others, was sentenced to a year in prison. The convictions were overturned on appeal in 1915.
In 1914, Charles Ranlett Flint hired Watson as general manager of the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (CTR), which had about 1,300 employees. Watson became president in 1915, and within four years revenues doubled to $9 million. He renamed the company IBM in 1924. By 1952, IBM controlled over 90 percent of U.S. tabulating machines, prompting a federal antitrust suit. When Watson died in 1956, IBM’s revenues reached $897 million, and it employed 72,500 people.
- born
- February 17, 1874, Campbell, New York
- died
- June 19, 1956
- field
- Business, computing
- nationality
- American
- known_for
- Chairman and CEO of IBM; building IBM into a dominant tabulating-machine company; developing IBM's management style and corporate culture
Lore & Background
Thomas J. Watson was born in Campbell, New York, the fifth child and only son of Thomas and Jane Fulton White Watson. His four older siblings were Jennie, Effie, Loua, and Emma. He worked on the family farm and attended District School Number Five, then Addison Academy. After briefly teaching for one day, he studied accounting at the Miller School of Commerce in Elmira, then worked as a bookkeeper and later as a traveling salesman. He sold sewing machines for Wheeler and Wilson; according to his son's autobiography, after a sale he drank at a saloon, and his horse, buggy, and samples were stolen, leading to his firing. He then sold shares for C. B. Barron, who absconded with funds, and later opened a butcher shop that failed. He joined NCR in 1896 as a sales apprentice, became a top salesman, and later ran the Rochester agency, using aggressive tactics. In 1912, NCR was convicted of antitrust violations; Watson was sentenced to one year imprisonment, but the conviction was overturned on appeal in 1915. In 1914, he became general manager of CTR, was made president in 1915, and renamed it IBM in 1924. He died in 1956 with IBM revenues at $897 million and 72,500 employees.
Reader's Guide
Watson's early career included a brief teaching job, bookkeeping, peddling organs and pianos, selling sewing machines (where he was fired after his rig was stolen while he was drunk), selling shares for a disreputable huckster, and running a failed butcher shop. He then joined NCR, where he became a top salesman and later managed the Rochester agency, using tactics that included sabotage of competitors. After NCR's antitrust conviction, he was hired by CTR in 1914, became president in 1915, and built IBM into a dominant tabulating machine company. He maintained a deep interest in international relations, was elected president of the International Chamber of Commerce in 1937, and met Adolf Hitler that year. IBM's German subsidiary was its most profitable foreign operation; Watson authorized cooperation with Nazi Germany, and IBM provided tabulating equipment used to identify Jews. He received the Order of the German Eagle in 1937 but returned it in June 1940. During World War II, IBM subsidiaries in occupied Europe continued delivering punch cards to Dehomag, with senior executives in New York maintaining legal authority over operations through managers in Switzerland.
Did You Know?
- Watson was the only son among five children, with four older sisters.
- He was fired from a sewing-machine job after his horse and buggy were stolen while he was drunk, according to his son's autobiography.
- He opened a butcher shop in Buffalo that soon failed, leaving him with no money or job.
- He received the Order of the German Eagle from Nazi Germany in 1937 but returned it in June 1940.
Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)
"Thomas John Watson, Sr. (February 17, 1874 – June 19, 1956) was the president of International Business Machines (IBM), who oversaw that company's growth into an international force from the 1920s to the 1950s." — Thomas J. Watson "Nothing so conclusively proves a man's ability to lead others as what he does from day to day to lead himself." — Thomas J. Watson "Watson (1939) in: American druggist Vol 100. p. 40." — Thomas J. Watson "If you want to succeed, double your failure rate." — Thomas J. Watson
More in Explorers & Business
Elsewhere in the Historical Figures universe
Spotted an error? Know more?
This is a living reference — every entry is fact-audited, and reader corrections feed straight into our audit queue. Suggest an edit · See this site's audit record