“The Rusty Ribbon”: John Herbert Orr and the Making of the Magnetic Recording Industry, 1945–1960

1993 ◽  
Vol 67 (4) ◽  
pp. 589-622
Author(s):  
David L. Morton
Keyword(s):  
Data Storage ◽  
Magnetic Recording ◽  
High Technology ◽  
Recording Industry ◽  
Standard Medium ◽  
History Of ◽  
Recording Tape ◽  
New Industry ◽  
The U.S ◽  
John Herbert

John Herbert Orr (1911-84) was an Alabama entrepreneur who formed Orradio Industries, Inc., a pioneering hightechnology firm that made magnetic recording tape. In 1945, Orr was among the U.S. Army Intelligence officials who investigated this technology, which was originally developed in Germany during the 1930s. Orr's early knowledge allowed him to establish Orradio in 1949 on a shoestring budget and to make it competitive with larger firms. When, after some uncertainty, tape became the standard medium for magnetic recorders, and as other uses such as data storage and videotape appeared, Orradio's sales expanded rapidly in the late 1950s. The company was purchased by a larger competitor, the Ampex Corporation, in 1959. The history of Orradio illustrates some of the technological, organizational, and locational problems associated with the establishment of a small high-technology firm in a new industry.

scholarly journals The Logics of Materials Innovation

2012 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 243-280 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christophe Lécuyer ◽  
Takahiro Ueyama
Keyword(s):  
Gallium Nitride ◽  
The United States ◽  
Consumer Electronics ◽  
Advanced Materials ◽  
Critical Material ◽  
Light Emitting ◽  
Recent Interest ◽  
History Of ◽  
New Industry ◽  
The U.S

This article examines the rise of gallium nitride as a major semiconductor material at the center of a new industry, solid-state lighting. It argues that the development of gallium nitride was shaped by the interplay of three contextual logics: material logic (the materiality of substances, tools, and fabrication techniques); market logic (the needs, demands, and interests of intended users); and competitive logic (the competitive tensions among laboratories, firms, and nations). For nearly forty years, chemists, physicists, and engineers in the United States and Japan struggled with the persistent material challenges presented by gallium nitride to meet the needs of potential markets in lighting and consumer electronics. Competition among firms and the technological and economic rivalry between the U.S. and Japan led to significant material developments and to the shaping of gallium nitride into a critical material for the manufacture of light emitting diodes. This article is intended to contribute to recent interest in the history of advanced materials and to the larger question of the determinants of innovation in technoscience.

scholarly journals Arc of Empire: The Federal Telegraph Company, the U.S. Navy, and the Beginnings of Silicon Valley

2017 ◽  
Vol 91 (2) ◽  
pp. 329-359 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen B. Adams
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
American Foreign Policy ◽  
Silicon Valley ◽  
High Technology ◽  
Early History ◽  
Industrial Complex ◽  
Half Century ◽  
Military Industrial Complex ◽  
History Of ◽  
The U.S

The early history of Silicon Valley is incomplete unless it is framed within the context of American foreign policy. The Federal Telegraph Company, the region's first major high-technology firm, received its first contract from the U.S. Navy in 1913. Its subsequent success relied not only on navy contracts but also on State Department support and access to Bureau of Standards technology. The company's contributions to America's military-industrial complex began a pattern that would fuel the region's development and growth for more than a half century.

An American Language

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosina Lozano
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
National Policy ◽  
The United States ◽  
Spanish Language ◽  
Spanish Speakers ◽  
Language Recognition ◽  
Political Language ◽  
Political Issue ◽  
History Of ◽  
The U.S

An American Language is a political history of the Spanish language in the United States. The nation has always been multilingual and the Spanish language in particular has remained as an important political issue into the present. After the U.S.-Mexican War, the Spanish language became a language of politics as Spanish speakers in the U.S. Southwest used it to build territorial and state governments. In the twentieth century, Spanish became a political language where speakers and those opposed to its use clashed over what Spanish's presence in the United States meant. This book recovers this story by using evidence that includes Spanish language newspapers, letters, state and territorial session laws, and federal archives to profile the struggle and resilience of Spanish speakers who advocated for their language rights as U.S. citizens. Comparing Spanish as a language of politics and as a political language across the Southwest and noncontiguous territories provides an opportunity to measure shifts in allegiance to the nation and exposes differing forms of nationalism. Language concessions and continued use of Spanish is a measure of power. Official language recognition by federal or state officials validates Spanish speakers' claims to US citizenship. The long history of policies relating to language in the United States provides a way to measure how U.S. visions of itself have shifted due to continuous migration from Latin America. Spanish-speaking U.S. citizens are crucial arbiters of Spanish language politics and their successes have broader implications on national policy and our understanding of Americans.

Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders Excel in Business but Not without Risks

2016 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 77-90
Author(s):  
Bill Imada
Keyword(s):  
Asian Americans ◽  
Asian American ◽  
Immigration Policy ◽  
Pacific Islanders ◽  
Significant Growth ◽  
Current Trends ◽  
History Of ◽  
Mainstream Society ◽  
American Society ◽  
The U.S

In recent years, data has shown that there has been significant growth in Asian American Pacific Islander-owned (AAPI) enterprises. Driven by demographic changes, related in large part to the history of immigration policy, the AAPI population has been growing, and this has been accompanied by AAPI innovators and entrepreneurs leaving greater marks on American society and the U.S. economy. This growth, however, is not without risks and threats. The legacy of being “othered” by mainstream society means that AAPI success in business and in the corporate landscape can be met with resentment and criticism. This article explores the history of AAPI entrepreneurship and current trends. It also examines the challenges that the community may continue to face and offers recommendations on how to ensure continued growth and expanded opportunities for AAPIs in business.

A Concise History of the U.S. Army Signal Corps

1988 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathy Roe Coker ◽  
Carol E. Rios
Keyword(s):  
Signal Corps ◽  
History Of ◽  
The U.S

History of Respiratory Illness at the U.S. Naval Academy

2001 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tammy L. Blankenship ◽  
Gary Gackstetter ◽  
Gregory C. Gray
Keyword(s):  
Respiratory Illness ◽  
Naval Academy ◽  
History Of ◽  
The U.S
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