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The Burroughs Corporation was a major American manufacturer of business equipment. The company was founded in 1886 as the American Arithmometer Company by William Seward Burroughs. The company's history paralleled many of the major developments in computing. At its start, it produced mechanical adding machines, and later moved into programmable ledgers and then computers. It was one of the largest producers of mainframe computers in the world, also producing related equipment including typewriters and printers.

Key Information

In the 1960s, the company introduced a range of mainframe computers that were well regarded for their performance running high-level languages. These formed the core of the company's business into the 1970s. At that time the emergence of superminicomputers and the dominance of the IBM System/360 and 370 at the high end led to shrinking markets, and in 1986 the company purchased former competitor Sperry UNIVAC and merged their operations to form Unisys.

Early history

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1914 advertisement
An early Burroughs adding machine
Desktop model in use around 1910

In 1886, the American Arithmometer Company was established in St. Louis, Missouri, to produce and sell an adding machine invented by William Seward Burroughs (grandfather of Beat Generation author William S. Burroughs). In 1904, six years after Burroughs's death, the company moved to Detroit and changed its name to the Burroughs Adding Machine Company. It was soon the biggest adding machine company in America.[1]

Evolving product lines

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The adding machine range began with the basic, hand-cranked Class 1 which was only capable of adding.[citation needed][2] The design included some revolutionary features, foremost of which was the dashpot which governed the speed at which the operating lever could be pulled so allowing the mechanism to operate consistently correctly.[3] The machine also had a full-keyboard with a separate column of keys 1 to 9 for each decade where the keys latch when pressed, with interlocking which prevented more than one key in any decade from being latched. The latching allowed the operator to quickly check that the correct number had been entered before pulling the operating lever. The numbers entered and the final total were printed on a roll of paper at the rear, so there was no danger of the operator writing down the wrong answer and there was a copy of the calculation which could be checked later if necessary.

The Class 2 machine, called the "duplex" and built in the same basic style, provided a means of keeping two separate totals. The Class 6 machine was built for bookkeeping work and provided the ability for direct subtraction.

Burroughs released the Class 3 and Class 4 adding machines which were built after the purchase of the Pike Adding Machine Company around 1910. These machines provided a significant improvement over the older models because operators could view the printing on the paper tape. The machines were called "the visible" for this improvement.

In 1925 Burroughs released a much smaller machine called "the portable". Two models were released, the Class 8 (without subtraction) and the Class 9 with subtraction capability. Later models continued to be released with the P600 and top-of-the-range P612 offered some limited programmability based upon the position of the movable carriage. The range was further extended by the inclusion of the Series J ten-key machines which provided a single finger calculation facility, and the Class 5 (later called Series C) key-driven calculators in both manual and electrical assisted comptometers.

In the late 1960s, the Burroughs sponsored "nixi-tube" provided an electronic display calculator. Burroughs developed a range of adding machines with different capabilities, gradually increasing in their capabilities. A revolutionary adding machine was the Sensimatic, which was able to perform many business functions semi-automatically.[citation needed] It had a moving programmable carriage to maintain ledgers. It could store 9, 18 or 27 balances during the ledger posting operations and worked with a mechanical adder named a Crossfooter. The Sensimatic developed into the Sensitronic which could store balances on a magnetic stripe which was part of the ledger card. This balance was read into the accumulator when the card was inserted into the carriage. The Sensitronic was followed by the E1000, E2000, E3000, E4000, E6000 and the E8000, which were computer systems supporting card reader/punches and a line printer.[citation needed]

Later, Burroughs was selling more than adding machines, including typewriters.

Move into computers

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The biggest shift in company history came in 1953: the Burroughs Adding Machine Company was renamed the Burroughs Corporation and began moving into digital computer products, initially for banking institutions. This move began with Burroughs's purchase in June 1956, of the ElectroData Corporation in Pasadena, California, a spinoff of the Consolidated Engineering Corporation which had designed test instruments and had a cooperative relationship with Caltech in Pasadena.[4] ElectroData had built the Datatron 205 and was working on the Datatron 220.[4] The first major computer product that came from this marriage was the B205 tube computer. In 1968[5] the L and TC series range was produced (e.g. the TC500—Terminal Computer 500) which had a golf ball printer and in the beginning a 1K (64 bit) disk memory. These were popular as branch terminals to the B5500/6500/6700 systems, and sold well in the banking sector, where they were often connected to non-Burroughs mainframes. In conjunction with these products, Burroughs also manufactured an extensive range of cheque processing equipment, normally attached as terminals to a medium systems such as B200/B300 and larger systems such as a B2700 or B1700.

In the 1950s, Burroughs worked with the Federal Reserve Bank on the development and computer processing of magnetic ink character recognition (MICR) especially for the processing of bank cheques. Burroughs made special MICR/OCR sorter/readers which attached to their medium systems line of computers (2700/3700/4700) and B200/B300 systems and this entrenched the company in the computer side of the banking industry.

A force in the computing industry

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Burroughs was one of the nine major United States computer companies in the 1960s, with IBM the largest, Honeywell, NCR Corporation, Control Data Corporation (CDC), General Electric (GE), Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC), RCA and Sperry Rand (UNIVAC line). In terms of sales, Burroughs was always a distant second to IBM. In fact, IBM's market share was so much larger than all of the others that this group was often referred to as "IBM and the Seven Dwarves."[6] By 1972 when GE and RCA were no longer in the mainframe business, the remaining five companies behind IBM became known as the BUNCH, an acronym based on their initials.

At the same time, Burroughs was very much a competitor. Like IBM, Burroughs tried to supply a complete line of products for its customers, including Burroughs-designed printers, disk drives, tape drives, computer printing paper and typewriter ribbons.

Developments and innovations

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The Burroughs Corporation developed three highly innovative architectures, based on the design philosophy of "language-directed design". Their machine instruction sets favored one or many high level programming languages, such as ALGOL, COBOL or FORTRAN. All three architectures were considered mainframe class machines:

  • The Burroughs Large Systems machines started with the B5000 in 1961. The B5500 came a few years later when large rotating disks replaced drums as the main external memory media. These B5000 Series systems used the world's first virtual memory multi-programming operating system.[citation needed] They were followed by the B6500/B6700 in the later 1960s, the B7700 in the mid-1970s, and the A series in the 1980s. The underlying architecture of these machines is similar and continues today as the Unisys ClearPath MCP line of computers: stack machines designed to be programmed in an extended Algol 60. Their operating systems, called MCP (Master Control Program—the name later borrowed by the screenwriters for Tron), were programmed in ESPOL (Executive Systems Programming Oriented Language, a minor extension of ALGOL) and DCALGOL (Data Communications ALGOL) and later in NEWP (with further extensions to ALGOL) almost a decade before Unix. The command interface developed into a compiled structured language with declarations, statements and procedures called WFL (Work Flow Language).

Many computer scientists[who?] consider these series of computers to be technologically groundbreaking. Stack-oriented processors with 48-bit word length where each word was defined as data or program contributed significantly to a secure operating environment, long before spyware and viruses affected computing. The modularity of these large systems was unique: multiple CPUs, multiple memory modules and multiple I/O and Data Comm processors permitted incremental and cost effective growth of system performance and reliability.

In industries like banking, where continuous operations was mandatory, Burroughs Large Systems penetrated nearly every large bank, including the Federal Reserve Bank. Burroughs built the backbone switching systems for Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) which sent its first message in 1977. Unisys is still the provider to SWIFT today.

  • Burroughs produced the B2500 or "medium systems" computers aimed primarily at the business world. The machines were designed to execute COBOL efficiently. This included a BCD (binary-coded decimal) based arithmetic unit, storing and addressing the main memory using base 10 numbering instead of binary. The designation for these systems was Burroughs B2500 through B49xx, followed by Unisys V-Series V340 through V560.
  • Burroughs produced the B1700 or "small systems" computers that were designed to be microprogrammed, with each process potentially getting its own virtual machine designed to be the best match to the programming language chosen for the program being run.
  • The smallest general-purpose computers were the B700 "microprocessors" which were used both as stand-alone systems and as special-purpose data-communications or disk-subsystem controllers.
  • Burroughs manufactured an extensive range of accounting machines including stand-alone systems such as the Sensimatic, L500 and B80 and dedicated terminals including the TC500 and specialised check processing equipment.[7]
  • In 1982, Burroughs began producing personal computers, the B20 and B25 lines with the Intel 8086/8088 family of 16-bit chips as the processor.[8] These ran the BTOS operating system, which Burroughs licensed from Convergent Technologies. These machines implemented an early local area network to share a hard disk between workgroup users. These microcomputers were later manufactured in Kunming, China for use in China under agreement with Burroughs.[9]
  • Burroughs collaborated with University of Illinois on a multiprocessor architecture developing the ILLIAC IV computer in the early 1960s. The ILLIAC had up to 128 parallel processors while the B6700 & B7700 only accommodated a total of 7 CPUs and/or I/O units (the 8th unit was the memory tester).
  • Burroughs made military computers, such as the D825 (the "D" prefix signifying it was for defense industrial use), in its Great Valley Laboratory in Paoli, Pennsylvania.[10][11] The D825 was, according to some scholars, the first true multiprocessor computer.[12] Paoli was also home to the Defense and Space Group Marketing Division.[13]
  • In 1964 Burroughs had completed the D830 which was another variation of the D825 designed specifically for real-time applications, such as airline reservations. Burroughs designated the B8300 after Trans World Airlines (TWA) ordered one in September 1965. A system with three instruction processors was installed at TWA's reservations center in Rockleigh, New Jersey in 1968. The system, which was called George, with an application programmed in JOVIAL, was intended to support some 4000 terminals, but the system experienced repeated crashes due to a filing system disk allocation error when operating under a large load. A fourth processor was added but did nothing to resolve the problem. The problem was resolved in late 1970 and the system became stable. The decision to cancel the project was being made at the very time that the problem was resolved. TWA cancelled the project and acquired one IBM System/360 Model 75, two IBM System/360 model 65s, and IBM's PARS software for its reservations system. TWA sued Burroughs for non-fulfillment of the contract, but Burroughs counter-sued, stating that the basic system did work and that the problems were in TWA's applications software. The two companies reached an out-of-court settlement.[14]
  • Burroughs developed a half-size version of the D825 called the D82, cutting the word size from 48 to 24 bits and simplifying the computer's instruction set. The D82 could have up to 32,768 words of core memory and continued the use of separate instruction and I/O processors. Burroughs sold a D82 to Air Canada to handle reservations for trips originating in Montreal and Quebec. This design was further refined and made much more compact as the D84 machine which was completed in 1965. A D84 processor/memory unit with 4096 words of memory occupied just 1.4 cubic feet (40 litres). This system was used successfully in two military projects: field test systems used to check the electronics of the Air Force General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark fighter plane[citation needed] and systems used to control the countdown and launch of the Army's Pershing 1 and 1a missile systems.[14][15]

Merger with Sperry

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Logo of Burroughs Corporation shortly before its merger with Sperry
Logo of Burroughs Corporation shortly before its merger with Sperry

In September 1986, Burroughs Corporation merged with Sperry Corporation to form Unisys. For a time, the combined company retained the Burroughs processors as the A- and V-systems lines. As the market for large systems shifted from proprietary architectures to common servers, the company eventually dropped the V-Series line, although customers continued to use V-series systems as of 2010. As of 2017 Unisys continues to develop and market the A-Series, now known as ClearPath.[16]

Burroughs Payment Systems

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Burroughs, Inc.
FormerlyBurroughs Payment Systems, Inc. (2010–2012)
Founded2010; 16 years ago (2010)
HeadquartersPlymouth, Michigan, United States
ProductsPayment processors
ParentMarlin Equity Partners
Websiteburroughs.com

In 2010, Unisys sold off its Payment Systems Division to Marlin Equity Partners, a California-based private investment firm, which incorporated it as Burroughs Payment Systems, Inc. (later just Burroughs, Inc.), based in Plymouth, Michigan.[17][18]

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References

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Further reading

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Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Burroughs Corporation

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Burroughs Corporation was an American manufacturer of business equipment and computers, founded in 1886 as the American Arithmometer Company in , , by inventor William Seward Burroughs and associates Thomas Metcalfe, R.M. Scruggs, and William R. Pye to produce and market his patented . The company initially focused on mechanical calculating devices, achieving early success with sales growing from 50 units in 1887 to nearly 1,000 by 1900, before relocating to in 1904 and renaming to Burroughs Adding Machine Company in 1905. By the , it had expanded globally to over 60 countries and diversified into more than 450 models of calculators, machines, typewriters, and related office equipment by the mid-1930s. During , Burroughs shifted production toward military applications, including the development of the used in key operations such as the atomic bombing of in 1945, which marked a pivot toward more complex . , the company entered the era by contributing core memory technology to the in 1953, and the firm officially became Burroughs Corporation in 1953, reflecting its broadening scope beyond adding machines to include check protectors, ticketeers, and advanced digital computers. It acquired the ElectroData Corporation in 1956 to bolster its electronic capabilities, and launched innovative systems like the B5000 series in 1961, known for pioneering stack-based architecture. In the 1960s and 1970s, Burroughs produced highly regarded computer systems for defense and space programs, including guidance computers for NASA's Mercury and Gemini missions and real-time systems for . By the 1980s, facing intense competition in the computing industry, Burroughs merged with in September 1986 in a $4.8 billion deal, forming Corporation with combined annual revenues of $10.5 billion and a exceeding 120,000 employees worldwide. This merger integrated Burroughs' strengths in medium-sized systems and peripherals with Sperry's large-scale mainframes, creating a major player in enterprise computing until the late .

Founding and Early Years

Establishment as American Arithmometer Company

The American Arithmometer Company was founded in 1886 in St. Louis, Missouri, by inventor William S. Burroughs, along with three associates, to manufacture and market mechanical adding machines designed to streamline business accounting tasks. Burroughs, a former bank clerk frustrated by the tedium and error-proneness of manual calculations, envisioned a device that would automate arithmetic operations for clerks and accountants. The company's initial focus centered on developing a reliable, practical adding machine that could perform accurate computations without relying on human intervention for basic addition and subtraction. A key foundation for the company was Burroughs' earlier innovation, detailed in his 1885 patent application for a "calculating " (U.S. No. 388,116, granted in 1888), which featured a dash pot mechanism to regulate the force and speed of operations, ensuring consistent results for and . This mechanism used a hydraulic damper to control the movement of internal components, preventing over- or under-registration of numbers and marking a significant advancement over prior unreliable designs. The underscored the company's commitment to precision in mechanical , addressing common pitfalls in clerical work such as miscalculations from fatigue or haste. The company's first commercial product, the Burroughs Adding Machine (Class 1), debuted in 1892 as a full-keyboard listing device capable of adding multiple entries and printing results on a paper tape for verification and record-keeping. This model represented a breakthrough in office equipment, offering businesses a verifiable for transactions that reduced errors in ledgers. By the early , growing demand necessitated expansion, leading to the relocation of headquarters and manufacturing from to a site near , , in 1904, where a larger facility of over 70,000 square feet was constructed to support increased production. The company was renamed the Burroughs Adding Machine in 1905 to honor its founder.

Development of Adding Machines

In 1904, the American Arithmometer Company relocated its operations from St. Louis to Detroit, Michigan, where it established a new factory to accommodate growing production demands for its adding machines. This move marked a pivotal expansion phase, enabling the company to scale manufacturing capabilities amid rising demand for mechanical calculators in business offices. The following year, in 1905, the firm was renamed the Burroughs Adding Machine Company in honor of its founder, William Seward Burroughs, who had died in 1898. The renaming reflected the company's deepening commitment to the inventor's legacy of reliable, key-driven adding devices that minimized clerical errors through printed listings. The core of Burroughs' product line during the early consisted of a series of mechanical adding machines designated as Class 1 through Class 9, produced from the to the 1940s. These models evolved from the original full-keyboard, hand-cranked designs, featuring key-driven mechanisms that allowed operators to input numbers directly without carry-over errors, automatic totaling for subtotals and grand totals, and error-proofing via locked keys to prevent double entries. For instance, the Class 1 machines, introduced around , were basic adding-listing devices with a high sloping keyboard and bevelled front, capable of printing results on rolls for trails; later iterations like the Class 2 added duplex registers for multiple accumulations. By the 1920s, Class 5 and Class 6 models incorporated subtraction capabilities and wider carriages for ledger work, while the portable Class 8 and Class 9 variants, launched in 1925 and 1926, offered compact designs with adding and subtracting functions, often powered manually or electrically, priced around $200. These innovations emphasized durability and precision, with features like non-printing versions for quick checks and full-keyboard layouts supporting up to 13 columns for complex tabulations. Manufacturing milestones underscored the company's rapid commercialization. The Detroit facility, initially spanning 70,000 square feet, facilitated , leading to workforce expansion; by the early 1920s, employment exceeded 12,000, reflecting the scale of operations as annual output surpassed 125,000 machines. By 1928, cumulative sales reached one million units worldwide, establishing Burroughs as the dominant player in adding machines. International expansion followed, with sales offices established in —such as and —by the early 1910s, building on the 1898 opening of a manufacturing plant in , ; this network supported exports to and other regions, contributing to global sales growth with annual sales of 13,300 machines in and cumulative sales exceeding 800,000 by 1920. The Great Depression in the 1930s posed significant challenges, reducing demand for office equipment as businesses contracted, yet Burroughs adapted by diversifying into bookkeeping machines that integrated adding functions with ledger printing and elements. These models, introduced in new series during the late 1920s and refined through the 1930s, featured configurable keyboards and carriages for and billing, helping sustain amid economic hardship; by 1935, the company offered around 450 variants of such equipment. further shifted production priorities, with manufacturing redirected toward military applications, including specialized calculators for the U.S. Army and , as well as components like the produced at the Plymouth plant from 1942 to 1946; civilian output was curtailed under programs to support war efforts. Leadership transitions following the founder's era involved professional managers who stabilized operations. Figures like Joseph Boyer, president from 1902 to 1920, oversaw the shift to diversified products, while Standish Backus assumed the presidency in 1920, guiding the company through the Depression and wartime adaptations with a focus on innovation in mechanical accounting tools until his death in 1943. These leaders built on early patents, such as Burroughs' 1885 design for key-set recording, which influenced later electronic calculators by prioritizing verifiable, printed computations.

Product Evolution and Diversification

Expansion into Calculators and Office Equipment

In 1953, the Burroughs Adding Machine Company underwent a significant to the Burroughs Corporation, signaling its transition from specialized adding machines to a wider array of business equipment, including advanced calculators and tools. This name change reflected the company's growing emphasis on integrated systems for and administrative tasks, driven by post-World War II demand for efficiency in commercial operations. A key development in this expansion was the introduction of the Sensimatic series of accounting machines in the early , designed specifically for posting and financial record-keeping. These electromechanical devices featured a sensing unit for automatic operation control, allowing users to store multiple account balances—up to 27 in advanced models—and perform postings with integrated adding functions via a Crossfooter mechanism. Complementing these were ongoing developments in electronic components, with late transistor research laying groundwork for 1960s desktop calculators like the C3000 series, which utilized Burroughs' displays for numeric output and supported basic arithmetic operations in office settings. The typewriter lineup further diversified offerings, building on the acquisition of the Moon-Hopkins Billing Machine Company to produce hybrid machines like the Moon typewriter that combined typing with billing capabilities; by the , this evolved into electric models suited for , enhancing document preparation in administrative workflows. Burroughs targeted the banking and sectors with these products, capitalizing on needs for precise, automated financial amid rising transaction volumes. By the late , the company's yielded annual revenues exceeding $162 million in 1953 alone, underscoring its in office equipment. This diversification was bolstered by strategic acquisitions in the late 1940s and , such as the 1949 purchases of Mittag & Volger, Inc. and Acme Carbon & Ribbon Company, manufacturers of like and machine ribbons, which expanded production capabilities for these tools.

Acquisitions and Shift to Electronics

In 1953, the Burroughs Adding Machine Company underwent a significant to become the Burroughs Corporation, a change that broadened its corporate charter to encompass a wider array of products beyond mechanical office equipment, signaling an intentional pivot toward including . This strategic shift was underscored by the establishment of a dedicated facility in , opened in 1954 as a $2 million electronic research laboratory on a 12-acre site, designed to foster innovation in electronic components and systems amid growing defense and scientific demands. The Paoli center quickly became a hub for advanced projects, including systems and early digital prototypes, enabling Burroughs to integrate electronic principles into its traditional mechanical product lines. To accelerate this transition, Burroughs pursued key acquisitions that brought expertise in . In 1954, the company acquired Haydu Brothers of , a manufacturer of vacuum tubes and other electronic components, which allowed Burroughs to produce specialized tubes for and applications, marking its first major foray into electronic manufacturing. This was followed in 1956 by the acquisition of ElectroData Corporation of , in a stock swap valued at approximately $20 million, gaining access to ElectroData's Datatron 205 technology and engineering talent; the deal positioned Burroughs to develop hybrid electro-mechanical systems for business and scientific use. These moves facilitated investments in early research, with Burroughs engineers at Paoli exploring transistor-based logic circuits by the late , transitioning from vacuum-tube reliance to more efficient solid-state designs. The acquisitions and electronic focus drove substantial financial growth, with annual revenue rising from approximately $85 million in 1950 to $389 million by 1960, more than quadrupling amid expanded R&D and product diversification. Integrated technologies from these efforts resulted in early products like the B205 computer, a rebranded Datatron that combined electronic computing with Burroughs' accounting expertise, establishing a foundation for the company's entry into the mainframe era.

Entry and Growth in Computing

Initial Computer Systems

Burroughs Corporation made its initial foray into computing through the acquisition of ElectroData Corporation in June 1956, integrating the Datatron 205 as the rebranded Burroughs B205, an early designed for scientific calculations and business . This system featured magnetic with a capacity of up to 4,000 ten-digit decimal words, stored across multiple tracks for , and relied on approximately 1,500 vacuum tubes for its logic operations. The B205 supported programming in languages such as , with a notable developed by during his time at Case Institute of Technology in 1960. Building on this acquired technology, Burroughs introduced its first proprietary computer system, the B220, in , a vacuum-tube optimized for tasks. The B220 retained the decimal architecture of the B205 but upgraded to with capacities up to 10,000 words and an access time of about 5 microseconds, improving performance for repetitive operations like sorting and . These systems targeted banking institutions, where they facilitated check processing and computations, capitalizing on Burroughs' established presence in financial office equipment. By , over 20 B205 installations had been deployed across academic, government, and commercial sites, including and insurance firms. Early adoption of these systems was hindered by intense competition from , which dominated the market with more established electronic offerings, as well as challenges in transitioning from to transistors in subsequent designs, leading to reliability concerns in emerging hardware. These foundational efforts positioned Burroughs to develop more advanced mainframe systems in the following decade.

Mainframe Development and Innovations

Burroughs Corporation launched the B5000 series in 1961, marking a significant advancement in mainframe design through its integrated hardware-software . This featured a stack-oriented that eliminated traditional registers in favor of operand stacks for efficient code execution, alongside pioneering implementations of and multiprogramming capabilities that allowed multiple programs to run concurrently without manual intervention. The design philosophy emphasized close alignment between hardware and the Master Control Program (MCP) operating system, enabling seamless resource management and protection mechanisms from the outset. Key innovations in the included descriptor-based , which used tagged descriptors to enforce access controls and prevent unauthorized operations, a feature integral to the B5000 and its successors for secure multiprogramming environments. Building on this, the B2500, introduced in 1966, was specifically optimized for processing, with hardware features like stack mechanisms and direct language support that simplified compilation and execution for business applications. By the early , the B6700 extended these concepts with distributed processing capabilities, incorporating multiple descriptor processors and I/O controllers to handle complex workloads across subsystems. The B1700, launched in 1972, further advanced control mechanisms through microprogrammed units that allowed flexible instruction interpretation and emulation of various languages. In the , the A Series mainframes introduced , where multiple equivalent processors and resources under the MCP, enabling scalable performance for demanding enterprise tasks without dedicated master-slave configurations. This evolution reflected Burroughs' ongoing R&D focus on language-directed design, where hardware was tailored to support high-level languages like and , with the MCP providing executive control for task scheduling, management, and system integrity. The company's innovations were protected by over 200 -related patents, including U.S. No. 3,374,466 (1968) for address translation mechanisms supporting early virtual addressing in descriptor-based systems. By the , these mainframes had achieved thousands of installations worldwide, demonstrating their reliability in commercial and specialized applications, such as the military-oriented D825 multiprocessor system.

Industry Leadership and Challenges

Market Position Among Competitors

During the 1970s, Burroughs Corporation emerged as a key player in the industry as part of the "BUNCH" group, comprising five major non-IBM vendors—Burroughs, (Sperry Rand), NCR, , and —that collectively challenged IBM's dominance in large-scale systems. This enabled Burroughs to secure a notable position in medium-scale systems, where it held an average of approximately 5-7% through systems like the B5000 series, focusing on business-oriented applications. Overall, Burroughs maintained a 5-8% share of the broader computer industry market during this decade, ranking it among the top non-IBM firms behind IBM's commanding 60-70% dominance. By 1980, Burroughs achieved peak annual revenues of approximately $2.86 billion, placing it sixth among global computer manufacturers, behind , Sperry, , NCR, and . The company demonstrated particular strength in the sector, where its specialized systems for banking and powered a significant portion of U.S. installations, building on its early 1950s entry into bank automation. Competitive strategies bolstered this position, including a robust direct sales organization that leveraged Burroughs' heritage in office equipment to target enterprise clients, alongside lucrative government contracts. Additionally, Burroughs often priced its mainframes 10-20% lower than comparable offerings, providing cost advantages in medium-scale deployments for financial and administrative users. However, the 1980s brought significant challenges as the rise of minicomputers and personal systems eroded demand for traditional mainframes, exacerbating IBM's entrenched market control. Burroughs' mainframe market share declined sharply to about 2.9% by 1985, reflecting broader industry shifts toward and intensified competition from vendors like . To counter domestic pressures, Burroughs pursued aggressive global expansion, establishing subsidiaries and sales operations in over 50 countries by the late 1970s and building European manufacturing facilities, including a major plant in Seneffe, , in for large-scale systems production. This international footprint supported exports to more than 120 markets, enhancing resilience amid U.S. market turbulence.

Key Technological Advancements

Burroughs Corporation made significant strides in operating system development with the introduction of the Master Control Program (MCP) for its B5000 series in 1961. The MCP pioneered dynamic , automatically managing memory, peripheral devices, and processors to optimize system performance and enable , where multiple programs could execute concurrently without manual intervention. This system also incorporated early security mechanisms, including file access controls with locked, guarded, and unlocked modes, user authentication via codes and passwords, and restrictions on executable code creation to prevent unauthorized modifications. These features integrated seamlessly with Burroughs' mainframe hardware to provide robust, fault-tolerant operation. In peripherals, Burroughs advanced output and storage technologies during the , developing high-speed line printers such as the B 9246-21 model, which achieved 2,000 lines per minute across 132 print positions with configurable vertical spacing of 6 or 8 lines per inch. Complementing these were innovative drives, including the B 9495 series with 9-track configurations supporting densities up to 6,250 bits per inch (bpi) using group code recording (GCR) and photoelectric encoding, delivering transfer rates as high as 1,250 KB/s at 200 inches per second. These peripherals enhanced data handling efficiency in large-scale computing environments. Burroughs applied its expertise to domain-specific innovations, notably in banking with real-time transaction processing systems in the late and 1970s. Systems like the B8500 mainframe, paired with TC 500 intelligent terminals, enabled near-instantaneous updates for branch accounting, targeting response times under 2.5 seconds and capacities exceeding 1 million transactions per hour to support widespread bank automation. In military applications, the D825 modular computer system, deployed in the , facilitated real-time command and control through its multicomputer , allowing instant adaptation to interrupts, priority changes, and program updates in dynamic environments. On the software front, Burroughs enhanced compilers for high-level languages to leverage its stack-based architectures. Its implementations, starting with the B5000's optimized single-pass for , incorporated features like automatic segmentation, array-row I/O, and extended data types such as DOUBLE and COMPLEX on later B6500/B6700 systems, achieving compilation speeds up to 5,000 card images per minute. compilers were similarly refined for commercial use, adding efficient string manipulation and partial-word syntax while maintaining one-pass efficiency comparable to ALGOL. In the , Burroughs introduced NEWP, an extended ALGOL variant serving as a secure, structured language that replaced earlier tools like ESPOL for MCP development, incorporating extensions for internal system access and support. Burroughs secured several patents for innovations, reflecting its focus on protecting sensitive information in multi-user environments; for instance, mechanisms for controlled access and protection bits in were integral to MCP's design, preventing unauthorized writes and ensuring program isolation.

Corporate Changes and Merger

Internal Restructuring and Divisions

In the , Burroughs Corporation restructured its organization to focus on specialized segments amid rapid industry growth. The company formed the Large Systems Group, headquartered in , to handle mainframe development and production for high-end applications, while the Small Systems Group concentrated on minicomputers, terminals, and related business systems. These divisions allowed Burroughs to streamline product architectures across high-end, mid-range, and entry-level markets, supporting innovations like the B6700 series mainframes. Under CEO Ray W. MacDonald, who led from 1967 to 1978, this restructuring emphasized electronic expansion and operational efficiency, positioning the company as a key player behind . By the early , economic and intensifying competition prompted aggressive cost-cutting. Burroughs implemented widespread layoffs, reducing its workforce by hundreds at multiple sites in 1981 alone, with further plant closures including the Goleta facility in in 1981 and the Yaphank plant on [Long Island](/page/Long Island) in 1982. These measures, part of broader efforts to consolidate manufacturing and eliminate underperforming operations, contributed to thousands of job losses across the decade. The company also shifted toward offshore manufacturing to lower production costs, aligning with global trends in the sector. To adapt to emerging markets, Burroughs created specialized units such as the Office Systems group in the early , targeting workstations and integrated solutions like the OFIS 1 system for document handling and . Complementing this, the defense electronics division expanded military contracts, delivering computing components for air defense networks such as SAGE and BUIC, as well as guidance systems for missiles and space programs. Leadership under figures like Paul S. Mirabito (chairman 1978–1980) and subsequent executives continued streamlining, focusing resources on core competencies. Financial strains intensified these changes, driven by substantial R&D investments and acquisition costs amid the 1981–1982 recession. Burroughs' profits plummeted, recording a $15.6 million net loss in the fourth quarter of 1982 alone (before restatement), down from $218.8 million (restated) for all of 1981. Rising from development initiatives further pressured operations, culminating in a debt rating downgrade in 1986 and paving the way for strategic consolidation.

Merger with

In May 1986, Burroughs Corporation launched a hostile takeover bid for its rival , the maker of computers, culminating in an agreement on May 28 for Burroughs to acquire Sperry in a $4.8 billion stock-and-cash deal, creating the second-largest computer company in the United States behind . The merger process, led by Burroughs CEO , involved multiple bids after an initial rejection, with Sperry's board approving the sweetened offer to avoid further uncertainty amid industry pressures. The combined entity was officially named Corporation on November 10, 1986, reflecting a blend of "United Information Systems." The primary motivations for the merger stemmed from the intensifying competition in the market, where both companies faced declining profitability and struggled as secondary players against IBM's dominance, prompting a need to consolidate resources for survival. Executives anticipated significant cost savings through overlapping operations and a pooled budget to accelerate innovation in a shifting industry landscape. Sperry's chairman Clifford L. Probst and other key figures, including executive vice president Joe Clabby, participated in negotiations alongside Blumenthal to align the deal's terms. Unisys was structured with its in Blue Bell, , Sperry's former base, to leverage existing facilities while integrating operations from Burroughs' . Burroughs' A Series mainframes, introduced in 1984, were rebranded and evolved under the ClearPath umbrella as part of Unisys' product lineup, maintaining compatibility for legacy customers. Immediately following the merger, the company implemented workforce reductions, streamlining from a combined pre-merger staff of approximately 124,000 to around 120,000 employees through early retirements and consolidations to achieve operational efficiencies. The Burroughs name persisted for certain products and divisions into the early 1990s during the transition phase.

Legacy and Specialized Operations

Burroughs Payment Systems

The Burroughs Payment Systems division originated from the company's expansion into banking automation during the , leveraging its foundational expertise in mechanical calculating devices developed since the late . In 1955, Burroughs acquired the Todd Company, a specialist in check-handling equipment, which introduced key innovations such as imprinters, coders, and sorters designed to automate check processing for financial institutions. This acquisition marked a pivotal shift toward specialized banking machinery, building directly on Burroughs' early heritage that revolutionized clerical tasks in banks. By the , the had formalized as a dedicated Systems Group, concentrating on advanced hardware for financial transactions, including automated teller machines (ATMs) and high-speed check sorters. Notable early products included magnetic stripe readers like the L5000 series in the , which supported emerging banking technologies. In the , Burroughs advanced into digital solutions with high-volume check imaging systems, enabling faster and more accurate document capture for banks transitioning to electronic . Following the 1986 merger that integrated Burroughs into , the division maintained its focus on payment hardware while incorporating broader system compatibilities. Headquartered in , the operations emphasized reliable financial transaction hardware, serving major U.S. banks through check automation and ATM support. In 2010, Unisys divested the Payment Systems assets to Marlin Equity Partners, reestablishing the unit as an independent entity named Burroughs Payment Systems, Inc., which preserved the historic Burroughs branding in its product lines. As of 2025, following its acquisition by Loomis AB in May, the company continues to operate as a provider of payment processing and transaction automation solutions, reporting annual revenue of approximately $107 million in 2024.

Long-Term Influence and Unisys Integration

Following the merger that formed , the Burroughs Master Control Program (MCP) operating system evolved into the ClearPath MCP environment, providing continuity for legacy mainframe operations from the 1990s through 2025. This integrated platform supports mission-critical workloads on modern hardware, including Intel-based systems and deployments, ensuring compatibility with original Burroughs applications. ClearPath MCP remains vital in sectors like finance and government, where reliability and security for high-volume are paramount. Burroughs' innovations in architecture laid foundational concepts for efficient instruction handling, influencing later systems and programming paradigms. These designs emphasized hardware-software integration, contributing to enduring practices in secure, scalable computing. The company's archival legacy is preserved through artifacts and records at institutions such as the , which holds brochures and documentation on Burroughs' early electronic systems, and , featuring exhibits on its calculating machines and WWII-era contributions like the core memory. In recent years, Unisys has advanced ClearPath with cloud integration, such as deploying workloads on in 2025 to enhance flexibility for enterprise users. Emulation efforts, including the open-source retro-B5500 project, recreate the Burroughs B5500 environment in web browsers, allowing preservation and study of original stack-based designs without physical hardware. Burroughs' historical footprint in , where it relocated in 1904 and built expansive facilities including a 1938 Plymouth plant, bolstered the region's industrial economy by employing thousands in manufacturing and engineering roles during the mid-20th century. The company's alumni network continues to honor this era through informal gatherings and shared histories, reflecting its role in shaping early tech talent.

Cultural and Historical Impact

Burroughs Corporation's early computers, particularly the B205 model, gained visibility in 1960s science fiction television as props representing advanced technology. In the Batman series (1966), a surplus Burroughs B205 console served as the "Batcomputer," depicted in the Batcave for crime-solving tasks, its blinking lights and tape drives embodying the era's vision of futuristic computing. Similarly, the B205 appeared in Lost in Space (1965–1968), where it was repurposed as spacecraft control panels and even a sentient prison ship computer in episodes like season 3's "Condemned of Space," highlighting Burroughs hardware in interstellar narratives. The company's adding machines and calculators, foundational to its legacy, occasionally featured in mid-20th-century films depicting , though specific attributions remain sparse in production records. Burroughs' campaigns further embedded the brand in popular consciousness through the slogan "," which appeared in print ads and promotional materials from the onward, emphasizing the ubiquity of its business equipment in American commerce. In later decades, Burroughs' innovative systems like the B5000 have been revisited in retrospectives. YouTube channels dedicated to computing history host and archival footage, such as 2012's "Burroughs B5000/B200 " from the Pasadena plant and 2018 compilations tracing the B5000's , portraying it as a "forgotten innovator" in stack-based architecture. These videos, often viewed in the , underscore the company's influence on modern programming paradigms without direct ties to narrative fiction.

Enduring Legacy in Computing History

Burroughs Corporation played an underrecognized role in democratizing for business applications, prioritizing practical tools for banking and accounting over the scientific emphasized by rivals like and . Unlike competitors focused on high-performance scientific calculations, Burroughs developed systems tailored for commercial , enabling widespread adoption in everyday business operations during the mid-20th century. This business-oriented approach, exemplified by early contributions to standardized programming languages, helped bridge the gap between complex hardware and accessible enterprise use. Employee innovations at the Paoli Research Center, established in 1954, and the nearby Great Valley Laboratories, opened in 1957, advanced hardware and , particularly in electronic components for business machines. Researchers there contributed to defense-related projects while fostering breakthroughs in transistor-based that influenced Burroughs' commercial product lines. Archival resources preserve this legacy, notably the University of Minnesota's Institute Burroughs Records Collection, spanning documents from 1886 to 1986 that detail corporate evolution from adding machines to mainframes. Complementing these are oral histories collected from former employees, offering firsthand accounts of technological and organizational developments. Burroughs influenced industry standards through key contributions to ANSI in the 1960s, where company programmer initiated the collaborative effort to create a business-focused , facilitating portable code across vendors. The firm also pioneered early adoption of concepts in systems like the B5500, allowing multiple users to access resources concurrently and enhancing for environments. In modern relevance as of 2025, Burroughs-derived technologies persist in secure government systems via ClearPath platforms, which evolve the original MCP operating system for mission-critical applications requiring and . Academic studies continue to examine Burroughs' stack architectures in curricula, highlighting their in high-level execution and influence on contemporary . The broader economic impact includes sustained job creation in , Burroughs' longtime headquarters base, where the company employed thousands from 1886 to 1986, supporting local manufacturing and contributing to the region's industrial growth. Recognition of these achievements appears in IEEE publications, such as the 1987 Annals of the History of Computing dedicated to the B5000's innovative design, underscoring its enduring architectural significance.

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