William R. Hewlett Biography: From the Garage to Hewlett-Packard

In 1970, with orders falling and layoffs a possibility, Hewlett-Packard tried a different response. Employees and executives affected by the downturn would work roughly 10 percent less and take a corresponding pay cut. William R. Hewlett, then HP’s chief executive officer, supported the nine-day fortnight as an alternative to cutting jobs. A principle of shared responsibility now carried a tangible cost.

Three decades earlier, Hewlett had designed an affordable audio oscillator for the garage business he founded with David Packard. As their company grew, his responsibilities shifted from hands-on instrument design to managing people and difficult business choices. His later work with Stanford, a family foundation, and a public-policy institute would extend that institution-building beyond HP.

A Quick Look at the Life of William R. Hewlett

From a Stanford Household to Electrical Engineering

Hewlett was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on May 20, 1913. His father, Albion Walter Hewlett, was a physician and medical academic; his mother was Louise Redington. When William was about three, the family moved to California, where his father joined Stanford’s medical faculty. His father died when William was twelve.

Hewlett struggled with reading as a child but showed strength in mathematics and science. Family and institutional recollections also describe his interest in hands-on experiments and the outdoors.

Hewlett entered Stanford in 1930 and earned his undergraduate degree in 1934. The university became an important point of contact with both David Packard, another engineering student, and professor Frederick E. Terman. Terman encouraged the young men’s interests in electronics and in the possibility of building a business around engineering work.

After graduating from Stanford in 1934, Hewlett pursued electrical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, earning a master’s degree in 1936. He later recalled the influence of Terman’s radio-engineering teaching and credited MIT professor Ernst A. Guillemin with broadening his technical understanding.

Packard went to work for General Electric while Hewlett continued his studies. They reunited in the Bay Area, and Hewlett completed Stanford’s Engineer degree in electrical engineering in 1939. Their eventual business partnership drew on overlapping technical and managerial responsibilities, rather than a strict division between inventor and administrator.

The Oscillator That Gave the Garage Venture a Product

In 1938, Hewlett and Packard began work in a small garage at 367 Addison Avenue in Palo Alto, with initial working capital and resources valued at $538. Their efforts became a formal Hewlett-Packard partnership on January 1, 1939.

The technical opening came from Hewlett’s design of a resistance-capacitance audio oscillator. An oscillator generates an electrical signal that engineers can use to test other equipment. Hewlett’s circuit used an incandescent lamp within a feedback arrangement to help stabilize the signal’s output, reducing distortion without the expense of more complicated approaches. The resulting Model 200A gave the young firm a practical, comparatively low-cost instrument to sell.

Hewlett’s contribution was a distinctive, commercially useful oscillator design rather than the invention of electronic oscillation itself. He applied for a patent on his variable-frequency oscillation generator on July 11, 1939; U.S. Patent 2,268,872 was issued on January 6, 1942.

Walt Disney Studios became a significant early customer, buying eight adapted Model 200B oscillators for tests of the experimental multichannel sound system associated with Fantasia, released in 1940. The order offered the young firm an important customer alongside the miscellaneous paid jobs it took on before establishing a lasting instrument business.

By 1940, HP had moved to other Palo Alto premises and begun adding employees. The garage was no longer large enough for the growing operation.

Wartime Service, Then a Larger Company to Help Lead

World War II interrupted Hewlett’s day-to-day work at HP. He served as an officer in U.S. Army technical assignments associated with the Signal Corps and War Department, ultimately holding the rank of lieutenant colonel. His wartime duties also included participation in an inspection of Japanese science and industry after the surrender.

During Hewlett’s absence, Packard and HP’s employees expanded the business. In a 1984 oral-history interview, Hewlett recalled a workforce of about 17 when he left and approximately 200 by the war’s end. He was returning to a very different company.

When HP incorporated in 1947, Packard became president and Hewlett vice president. As the workforce grew, the founders faced a new concern: how to preserve the initiative and close working relationships of a small company within a larger organization.

How the Founders Tried to Keep HP Personal as It Grew

HP’s growth brought new products, more employees and operations beyond Palo Alto. Hewlett later recalled that, by the mid-1950s, managers had decided to concentrate more firmly on electronic measurement after experimenting with less successful directions. As the business expanded, the founders also discussed how to avoid losing the direct relationships and initiative associated with its early years.

In 1957, HP completed its first public stock offering and its leaders set down corporate objectives. The company also moved toward smaller divisions and broader responsibility for managers rather than requiring all decisions to move through the founders. These practices became associated with the “HP Way”: respect for employees, opportunities for technical initiative, management by objectives, and leaders remaining in contact with people doing the work.

Hewlett did not shape this approach alone. Packard, other managers, and staff helped put the culture into practice. Describing his long partnership with Packard in a later interview, Hewlett said, “We just thought alike.”

The company established significant manufacturing operations abroad in 1959 and began trading on the New York Stock Exchange in 1961, four years after its first public offering. In 1966 HP introduced its first computer, the 2116A, designed for use with test and measurement systems. This product was developed by the company rather than by Hewlett personally.

Hewlett’s responsibilities increased in stages. He became executive vice president in 1957, president in 1964 and chief executive officer in 1969, when Packard moved to work in Washington. As HP grew beyond its founding instrument business, leadership meant increasingly directing people and priorities rather than personally designing each product.

The Nine-Day Fortnight: A Test in the 1970 Downturn

A serious slowdown in electronics orders in 1970 raised the prospect of job losses. HP responded with a nine-day fortnight for affected employees and executives: roughly 10 percent less working time, accompanied by a similar reduction in pay. The arrangement spread a real financial cost across the workforce while helping the company avoid a conventional round of layoffs.

Hewlett explained his position in a company newsletter. Speaking about the possibility of laying off workers, he said, “But I don’t feel that would be a very fair way.” The reduced schedule imposed a real loss of pay, yet it distributed the burden across affected workers rather than concentrating it on those who might otherwise lose their jobs.

A Shirt-Pocket Challenge Becomes the HP-35

Around 1971, Hewlett set HP’s engineers a different kind of challenge: make a scientific calculator small enough to fit into a shirt pocket. At the time, comparable scientific calculators were desktop machines. The engineering team took on the design and construction of the smaller device.

On January 4, 1972, HP introduced the HP-35, the first handheld scientific calculator. It offered logarithmic, exponential and trigonometric functions as well as basic arithmetic, at an introductory price of $395. Earlier handheld calculators existed, so its distinction was scientific capability in portable form, not being the first pocket calculator of any kind.

Early market research questioned whether customers would buy such an expensive pocket-sized instrument. The HP-35 nevertheless became a commercial success and sharply reduced dependence on slide rules. The product was a second example, decades after Hewlett’s oscillator, of turning sophisticated technical capabilities into a more accessible instrument—this time through the work of an engineering team he had challenged.

Succession, Scientific Honors, and Work Beyond HP

Hewlett stepped down as HP president in 1977 and as chief executive officer in 1978. John Young succeeded him in those positions. Hewlett remained involved as chairman of HP’s executive committee until 1983, subsequently served as vice chairman of the board, and was named director emeritus in 1987.

Professional recognition accompanied that long career. He served as president of the Institute of Radio Engineers in 1954, was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1965 and the National Academy of Sciences in 1977. His National Medal of Science is recorded as a 1983 award, presented by President Ronald Reagan on February 27, 1985. He was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 1992.

His relationship with Stanford continued long after graduation. Hewlett served as a university trustee from 1963 to 1974 and supported education, research, and academic institutions. His contributions formed part of a wider pattern of university support involving Packard and their associated foundations.

Supporting Institutions That Would Outlast His Career

In 1966, Hewlett, his wife Flora, and their eldest son Walter established the family foundation that became the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. The foundation was separate from Hewlett-Packard. Its work expanded into areas including education, the environment and the arts, allowing charitable activity to continue through an institution with its own governance.

Hewlett married Flora Lamson in 1939, and they had five children. After Flora’s death in 1977, he married Rosemary Bradford and became stepfather to her five children.

In the 1990s, Hewlett joined Roger W. Heyns and Arjay Miller in developing the idea for the Public Policy Institute of California. Their work began in 1993; PPIC formally launched in July 1994 with an endowment supporting its independence. A $70 million contribution by Hewlett was reported in 1995.

At a 1995 public forum, Hewlett emphasized education, saying, “Without education, we cannot look forward.” He also discussed preparing a new generation of leaders. His support for the foundation, Stanford, and PPIC gave those interests an institutional expression beyond his years as an HP executive.

The Garage as a Symbol, and the Life Behind It

The Addison Avenue garage was designated a California historical landmark in 1987 and dedicated in 1989 as the “Birthplace of Silicon Valley.” The commemorative title recognized the importance of HP’s beginnings in the region’s technology history, rather than attributing an entire industry’s creation to the two founders.

The corporation kept changing after Hewlett stepped back from active leadership. In 1999–2000, HP separated its measurement and related businesses into Agilent Technologies; Hewlett had been a director emeritus since 1987.

William R. Hewlett died at his Palo Alto home on January 12, 2001, aged 87. David Packard had died in 1996. Hewlett’s career had reached from individual circuit design to the direction of a large electronics company, and from university relationships to support for independent charitable and policy institutions.

The garage and the oscillator remain vivid symbols of Hewlett’s technical beginnings. Yet his career also encompassed shared management, a costly decision to protect jobs during a downturn, and enduring charitable and educational institutions. Those achievements were built with collaborators, employees, and family members as well as through Hewlett’s own contributions.

Timeline

These milestones trace William R. Hewlett’s life, technical work, HP leadership and later institutional commitments.

1913

William Redington Hewlett is born on May 20 in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

1930–1936

Hewlett enters Stanford in 1930, earns his B.A. in 1934 and completes an electrical-engineering master’s degree at MIT in 1936.

1938–1939

Hewlett and David Packard begin garage work in 1938 and establish the HP partnership on January 1, 1939. Hewlett also earns Stanford’s Engineer degree in 1939.

1939–1942

Hewlett files for a patent on his variable-frequency oscillator in 1939; the patent is issued in 1942.

1941–1945

Hewlett serves in the U.S. Army during World War II as an officer in technical assignments.

1947

Hewlett-Packard incorporates, with Packard as president and Hewlett as vice president.

1957

HP makes its first public stock offering and formalizes corporate objectives; Hewlett becomes executive vice president.

1964

Hewlett becomes HP president.

1966

Hewlett, Flora, and their eldest son Walter establish the family foundation; HP introduces its first computer, the 2116A.

1969

Hewlett becomes HP chief executive officer.

1970

HP adopts the nine-day fortnight, temporarily reducing hours and pay for affected employees and executives during an industry downturn.

1972

HP introduces the HP-35 handheld scientific calculator on January 4, following Hewlett’s challenge to its engineering team.

1977–1978

Hewlett leaves the HP presidency and then the chief executive position; John Young succeeds him.

1983–1985

Hewlett is named a 1983 National Medal of Science recipient; President Ronald Reagan presents the medal in 1985.

1987–1992

Hewlett becomes a director emeritus in 1987; the garage receives state landmark status in 1987 and a historic dedication in 1989; he enters the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 1992.

1993–1995

Hewlett works with Roger W. Heyns and Arjay Miller on the Public Policy Institute of California, launched in 1994 and supported by Hewlett funding.

2001

Hewlett dies in Palo Alto on January 12 at age 87.

FAQs

Was Hewlett-Packard founded in 1938 or 1939?

The founders began working in the Palo Alto garage in 1938. They formally established the Hewlett-Packard partnership on January 1, 1939. The dates refer to the venture’s early activity and its legal formation, respectively.

What did William Hewlett invent for HP?

Hewlett designed the Model 200A resistance-capacitance audio oscillator, HP’s original product. An incandescent lamp in its feedback circuit helped stabilize the signal and reduce distortion, making the instrument comparatively inexpensive and useful for electronics testing.

Did Walt Disney personally purchase HP oscillators for Fantasia?

Walt Disney Studios purchased eight adapted Model 200B oscillators for sound-system work associated with Fantasia. The transaction was a studio purchase; it does not establish a personal purchase or meeting involving Disney.

Did Hewlett build the HP-35 calculator himself?

No. Around 1971, Hewlett challenged HP engineers to create a shirt-pocket scientific calculator. An HP team designed and built the HP-35, introduced in January 1972 as the first handheld scientific calculator.

Why did HP introduce a nine-day fortnight in 1970?

During a slowdown in electronics orders, HP chose reduced working hours and pay—about 10 percent for affected employees and executives—as an alternative to conventional layoffs. Hewlett publicly defended the shared-sacrifice approach.

When did Hewlett-Packard first go public?

HP made its first public stock offering on November 6, 1957. The company first listed on the New York Stock Exchange in March 1961, a separate milestone.

Was Hewlett’s National Medal of Science awarded in 1983 or 1985?

1983 was the medal’s award year. President Ronald Reagan presented it on February 27, 1985. The two dates describe separate parts of the same honor.

Interviews

William Hewlett on Engineering, Terman, and HP’s Growth (1984)

In a 1984 oral-history interview with A. Michal McMahon, Hewlett discusses his technical education, Frederick Terman’s influence, and HP’s beginnings. His recollections also cover wartime assignments, postwar expansion, and efforts to preserve a collaborative workplace as the company grew. The archive restricts republication of verbatim excerpts.

Read the IEEE oral-history interview

Hewlett and Packard on Entrepreneurship and Education (1995)

This public forum brought Hewlett and Packard together to reflect on entrepreneurship and their company’s development. Hewlett also addressed education and the importance of preparing people for future responsibilities. The transcript offers readers a late-career perspective from both founders rather than a retrospective told by one person alone.

Read the 1995 public forum transcript

Sources

• Agilent Technologies: William R. Hewlett biography, 1930s company history, 1950s company history, 1960s company history, 1970s company history, 1980s company history, 1999 company history, The HP garage.
• National Academy of Sciences: William Redington Hewlett, Biographical Memoirs.
• Stanford University: William Hewlett, Engineering Heroes, Father Figure, Uncommon Men.
• Hewlett-Packard Company Archives: The Founding of HP, The Nine-Day Fortnight, HP-35 advertising archive.
• U.S. Patent Office: William Hewlett’s oscillator, U.S. Patent 2,268,872.
• IEEE History Center: William Hewlett oral history (1984).
• Los Angeles Times: High-Tech Pioneer William Hewlett Dies.
• Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution: William R. Hewlett obituary.
• Hewlett Packard Enterprise: HP history, HP growth and innovation timeline.
• The Henry Ford: Sparking Innovation: HP-35 Calculator.
• Smithsonian Institution: Handheld electronic calculators history.
• National Science Foundation: William R. Hewlett, National Medal of Science.
• National Inventors Hall of Fame: William R. Hewlett.
• William and Flora Hewlett Foundation: Foundation history.
• Public Policy Institute of California: PPIC statement and founding history.
• Independent Institute: Entrepreneurship and the High Technology Revolution (1995 forum).