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32 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News • MAY 2014 MR’S 75TH ANNIVERSARY E lmer A. Sperry casts a long shadow over the history of modern na- val, nautical and aero- nautical technology, one few people know much about, but should, for a man crowned both the “father of modern navigational technology” and “the father of automatic feedback and control systems,” as well as a pioneer of rocket and missile tech- nology. “It is safe to say that no one American has contributed so much to our naval technical progress,” eulogized Charles Francis Adams III, Secretary of the Navy from 1929-1933, on the death of engi- neering genius Elmer Ambrose Sperry, June 16, 1930, at 69. Appointed to a newly formed Naval Consulting Board in 1915, Sperry spent the next decade working closely with the Navy, at times alongside his aviator son Lawrence (see related story, p. 38), developing gyro-compasses, stabiliz- ers, autopilots, bomb sights, automatic fi re control systems and powerful spot- lights for ships and aircraft. Much of this technology was deployed by the Navy in both world wars, and continues to be used in some form on vessels of all sizes today. “Harnessing the motion of the earth” Describing Sperry as “. . . he who har- nessed the motion of the earth to do his bidding. . ., the New York Times in an editorial on the day after his death, cel- ebrated his achievements thusly: “For those who travel by sea he pro- vided not only the pilot who whatever betides hold his rudder true, but also a ‘stabilizer’ to prevent the rolling of the ship and a device for signaling to prevent collisions. For those traveling by air, he has helped to maintain the equilibrium of their planes and to lessen the peril of fi re and to penetrate the fog.” Sperry’s inventions, which often in- volved electricity and employed some form of control system, contributed greatly to advancements in lighting, mining, rail safety, street cars, brakes, engines, automatic ignition, automatic pilots, radar, guided missiles, drones and wireless systems. But if anyone deserves the epitaph “steady as she goes,” Sperry does. The New York Times had it right when IT described Sperry as “. . . ever thinking (Photo: Hagley Museum and Library) Inventor, Entrepreneur, Industrialist & The Father of Modern Navigational Tech By Patricia Keefe “Here’s one of the best pictures of your father and at the same time one of the few which was taken showing him actually using the gyrocompass. I suggest you keep this for your records.” Note to Elmer Jr. from Robert B. Lea, July 8, 1937 MR #5 (32-41).indd 32 4/29/2014 12:14:25 PM
