Alonzo G. Decker
Alonzo Galloway Decker Sr. (born January 16, 1884 in Baltimore , Maryland , † March 18, 1956 in Towson , Maryland) was an American entrepreneur, inventor and theosophist .
Together with S. Duncan Black , Decker founded the Black & Decker Manufacturing Company in Baltimore in 1910 as a small machine shop. In 1914 Decker invented the pistol grip with a built-in pressure switch for a hand drill ; drilling machines are still manufactured according to this system today. In 1917 he patented this invention and together with Black built the first Black & Decker plant for the manufacture of power tools in Towson (a suburb of Baltimore). In the following decades the company expanded all over the world. After Black's death in 1951, Decker became sole president of the company; he held this position until his death in 1956.
On April 3, 1929, he joined the Adyar Theosophical Society and remained a member until his death.
In 2019, Decker was posthumously inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame .
Decker Sr. is not to be confused with his son of the same name, Alonzo Galloway Decker Jr. (1908–2002). He was President of Black & Decker from 1964 to 1975.
Individual evidence
- ↑ http://www.msu.edu/~daggy/cop/bkofdead/obits-de.htm
- ^ Katinka Hesselink: Famous People and the Impact of the Theosophical Society , 2006
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Decker, Alonzo G. |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Decker, Alonzo Galloway |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American entrepreneur, inventor and theosophist, co-founder of the machine manufacturer Black & Decker |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 16, 1884 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Baltimore , Maryland |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 18, 1956 |
| Place of death | Towson , Maryland |