Bernard Silver
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bernard Silver | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 21, 1924 |
| Died | August 28, 1963 (aged 38) |
| Burial place | Roosevelt Memorial Park, Trevose, Bucks County, Pennsylvania |
| Alma mater | Drexel University (BSc) |
| Occupation | Engineer |
| Known for | Co-inventor of the barcode |
| Spouse | Phyllis Silver |
| Children |
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| Honours | National Inventors Hall of Fame inductee (2011) |
Bernard Silver (September 21, 1924 – August 28, 1963) was an American electrical engineer who co-invented the barcode alongside Norman Joseph Woodland.
Silver earned his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the Drexel Institute of Technology in 1947.[1] In 1948 Silver paired with Norman Joseph Woodland to come up with an automated way to read product data after overhearing the conversation of a local grocery store president. Their initial results, a system of lines and circles based on Morse code, was replaced with a bulls eye pattern so it could be scanned from any direction.[2] Silver and Woodland filed a patent for their system on October 20, 1949.[3] U.S. patent 2,612,994 was granted on October 7, 1952.[4] "The two men eventually sold their patent to Philco for $15,000 — all they ever made from their invention."[5]
During his career Silver served as a physics instructor at Drexel and as vice-president of Electro Nite Inc.[6] He died August 28, 1963, of bronchopneumonia due to acute myelogenous leukemia[7] at the age of 38.[6][8] In 2011 Silver, alongside Woodland, was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.[9]
Google featured a doodle of their logo as a barcode to recognize the anniversary of Bernard Silver at October 7, 2009.[10]
