Jnc: Expand and correct early history

2026-10-04T10:16:16Z

Expand and correct early history

← Older revision		Revision as of 10:16, 4 October 2026
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	'''National Cash Register''' (the name is usually given as the acronym, '''NCR''') is an American company~~, originally founded in 1884,~~ with a focus in information-handling equipment for retail businesses. As the name implies, those were originally cash registers, but as [[electronic]] [[computer]]s became a standard part of information processing in businesses, they eventually expanded into that area.		'''National Cash Register''' (the name is usually given as the acronym, '''NCR''') was an American company with a focus in information-handling equipment for retail businesses. As the name implies, those were originally cash registers, but as [[electronic]] [[computer]]s became a standard part of information processing in businesses, they eventually expanded into that area.

	~~The founder~~, John Henry Patterson, ~~had~~ an intense focus in the sales aspect of the business~~; the~~ assembler of [[International Business Machines\|IBM]], [[Thomas Watson]], famously worked at NCR for a lengthy spell, and absorbed many of Patterson's ~~techniques~~, which later became, in turn, a standard part of IBM's sales ~~techniques~~.		It was originally founded sometime between 1881 and 1884, by Jacob H. Eckert, as the 'National Manufacturing Company', to sell cash registers invented and patented by James Ritty, with help from his brother John. In 1884, it was acquired by John Henry Patterson, who renamed it to 'National Cash Register Company'; he developed an intense focus in the sales aspect of the business, where he produced many innovations in technique.

			(The assembler of [[International Business Machines\|IBM]], [[Thomas Watson]], famously worked at NCR for a lengthy spell, and absorbed many of Patterson's ideas, which later became, in turn, a standard part of IBM's sales methods.)

	During WWII, NCR became involved in producing electro-mechanical equipment, which included a fair amount of electronic content, for the U.S. Navy's attack on the German [[Enigma]] [[cryptosystem]].		During WWII, NCR became involved in producing electro-mechanical equipment, which included a fair amount of electronic content, for the U.S. Navy's attack on the German [[Enigma]] [[cryptosystem]].
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	NCR split into two companies, NCR Voyix and NCR Atleos, in 2023.		NCR split into two companies, NCR Voyix and NCR Atleos, in 2023.

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	==Further reading==		==Further reading==

	* James W. Cortada, ''Before the Computer: IBM, NCR, Burroughs, and Remington Rand and the Industry They Created, 1865-1956'', Princeton University, Princeton, 1993		* James W. Cortada, ''Before the Computer: IBM, NCR, Burroughs, and Remington Rand and the Industry They Created, 1865-1956'', Princeton University, Princeton, 1993
	* Jim DeBrosse, Colin Burke, ''The Secret in Building 26: The Untold Story of America's Ultra War Against the U-boat Enigma Codes'', Random House, New York, 2004		* Jim DeBrosse, Colin Burke, ''The Secret in Building 26: The Untold Story of America's Ultra War Against the U-boat Enigma Codes'', Random House, New York, 2004 - an excellent, detailed history of NCR's little-known involvement

	==External links==		==External links==

Jnc: The last of the early US builders

2026-10-04T09:22:36Z

The last of the early US builders

New page

'''National Cash Register''' (the name is usually given as the acronym, '''NCR''') is an American company, originally founded in 1884, with a focus in information-handling equipment for retail businesses. As the name implies, those were originally cash registers, but as [[electronic]] [[computer]]s became a standard part of information processing in businesses, they eventually expanded into that area.

The founder, John Henry Patterson, had an intense focus in the sales aspect of the business; the assembler of [[International Business Machines|IBM]], [[Thomas Watson]], famously worked at NCR for a lengthy spell, and absorbed many of Patterson's techniques, which later became, in turn, a standard part of IBM's sales techniques.

During WWII, NCR became involved in producing electro-mechanical equipment, which included a fair amount of electronic content, for the U.S. Navy's attack on the German [[Enigma]] [[cryptosystem]].

They endured a ''very'' long period of competition with IBM, from the [[punched card]] era of the 1930's, through [[mainframe]]s, and although they never won, they hung on - something most of IBM's competitors in the computer business did not achieve.

NCR split into two companies, NCR Voyix and NCR Atleos, in 2023.

==Further reading==

* James W. Cortada, ''Before the Computer: IBM, NCR, Burroughs, and Remington Rand and the Industry They Created, 1865-1956'', Princeton University, Princeton, 1993
* Jim DeBrosse, Colin Burke, ''The Secret in Building 26: The Untold Story of America's Ultra War Against the U-boat Enigma Codes'', Random House, New York, 2004

==External links==

* [https://www.computerhistory.org/brochures/m-p/national-cash-register-company-ncr/ National Cash Register Company (NCR)] - a collection of sales brochures
* [https://www.ncr.com/ NCR Corporation has separated into two separate and distinct companies: NCR Voyix and NCR Atleos] - a joint Web presence for the two

[[Category: Manufacturers]]

National Cash Register - Revision history

Jnc: Expand and correct early history

Jnc: The last of the early US builders