3/17/2011:
Patrick Haggerty, the celebrated entrepreneur and businessman, was born in Harvey, North Dakota on this date in 1914. Haggerty went on to co-found Texas Instruments, serve on several national advisory commissions, and earn numerous awards and honors from across the country.
The son of a railroad telegrapher, Haggerty developed an interest in electronics at an early age, and grew up tinkering with radios. After building his own radio, he became one of the first amateur radio operators in North Dakota. Unsurprisingly, Haggerty went on to pursue a degree in electrical engineering after graduating from Harvey High School.
He attended Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, graduating summa cum laude in 1936. He continued working at the Badger Carton Company in Milwaukee, where he had worked as a student, and he was subsequently promoted to production manager.
When World War II broke out, Haggerty became a reserve officer in the Navy’s Bureau of Aeronautics. He rose to become the head of the Electronics Production branch, in charge of producing all of the electronic equipment used on military aircraft.
Upon his discharge in 1945, Haggerty was hired on as general manager of the lab and manufacturing division of Geophysical Service Incorporated in Dallas, Texas. The company used geophysical technologies to search for oil and mineral resources, and was hoping to expand by creating new products.
Haggerty went to work exploring circuitry and electronic components. In 1951, he, along with three coworkers, took over the geophysical company and renamed it Texas Instruments, hoping to build a future in electronic products. Within a few years, one of their employees, Jack Kilby, invented the integrated circuit, making the hand-held calculator, along with most home electronics used today, possible.
Haggerty became president of the company in 1958; under his leadership, the number of employees at Texas Instrument grew from 554 to 38,000. He served as chairman until 1976, and as general director until his death in 1980. Along with numerous honorary doctorates, fellowships, and awards, Haggerty was inducted posthumously into the North Dakota Entrepreneur Hall of Fame in 1988.
Dakota Datebook written by Jayme L. Job
Sources:
www.innovators.net/innovators/public_html/about_the_center/entrepreneur_hall.html
http://www.ieeeghn.org/wiki/index.php/Patrick_E._Haggerty