Edward M. Douglas

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Edward Mills Douglas (1903–1983) was a businessman. Douglas served as a senior executive at IBM in multiple roles during a 25-year career at the company. He represented IBM on the Office Equipment Manufacturers Institute (now the Information Technology Industry Council). The Institute elected him its president in 1948. [1]

IBM American multinational technology and consulting corporation

International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) is an American multinational information technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, with operations in over 170 countries. The company began in 1911, founded in Endicott, New York, as the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (CTR) and was renamed "International Business Machines" in 1924.

The Information Technology Industry Council (ITI) is a Washington, D.C.-based trade association that represents companies from the information and communications technology (ICT) industry. As an advocacy organization, ITI works to influence policy issues aimed at encouraging innovation and promoting global competitiveness.

Contents

Early life and education

Douglas was born to Charles Malcolm Douglas and Maude Mills Douglas in New Rochelle, New York on December 21, 1903. He graduated from the Morristown School (now Morristown-Beard School) in Morristown, New Jersey in 1921. [2] Douglas later served as a member of the school's Board of Trustees. [3] In 1925, Douglas completed his bachelor's degree at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. During his time at the school, he participated in the Phoenix Club, the Hasty Pudding Institute of 1770, and the Speakers Club. As a freshman, Douglas played on the Harvard Crimson cross country team. After graduating, he joined IBM as a systems sales representative. [4]

New Rochelle, New York City in New York, United States

New Rochelle is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the southeastern portion of the state.

Morristown, New Jersey Town in New Jersey, United States

Morristown is a town and the county seat of Morris County, New Jersey, United States. Morristown has been called "the military capital of the American Revolution" because of its strategic role in the war for independence from Great Britain. Today this history is visible in a variety of locations throughout the town that collectively make up Morristown National Historical Park.

Harvard University private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with about 6,700 undergraduate students and about 15,250 post graduate students. Established in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, clergyman John Harvard, Harvard is the United States' oldest institution of higher learning, and its history, influence, and wealth have made it one of the world's most prestigious universities.

Career at IBM

After serving as a systems sales representative in New York City and Newark, New Jersey, Douglas received a promotion to senior sales representative in 1927. He served as divisional manager for IBM's New York City office until IBM named him their first district manager for the New England District in 1935. [5] Three years later, Douglas moved back to New York City after accepting the role of director of sales promotion at the company's world headquarters building. [3]

Newark, New Jersey City in New Jersey, United States

Newark is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County. As one of the nation's major air, shipping, and rail hubs, the city had a population of 285,154 in 2017, making it the nation's 70th-most populous municipality, after being ranked 63rd in the nation in 2000.

New England Region of the United States

New England is a geographical and cultural region composed of six states of the northeastern United States: Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north, respectively. The Atlantic Ocean is to the east and southeast, and Long Island Sound is to the south. Boston is New England's largest city as well as the capital of Massachusetts. The largest metropolitan area is Greater Boston with nearly a third of the entire region's population, which also includes Worcester, Massachusetts, Manchester, New Hampshire, and Providence, Rhode Island.

After he serviced as executive assistant, IBM named Douglas its vice president in charge of sales in 1946. [6] Douglas served in that role until 1952 when he took on the role of vice president of special administrative matters; Louis LaMotte succeeded him as vice president of sales. [7] Douglas retired in 1954. After receiving election to IBM's Board of Directors in 1947, [8] he continued serving in that role until 1959;James Rhyne Killian, Jr., the 10th president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, succeeded him on the Board. [9] While serving on the Board, Douglas served as one of 42 honorary pallbearers at the 1956 tribute to Thomas Watson, Sr. [10]

Louis Howell LaMotte Jr. (1896–1984) was a business executive. Known by the nickname of "Red," LaMotte served in senior leadership positions at IBM during a 39-year career. During the 1950s, he led a task force overseeing IBM's initiative to develop computers for the U.S. government and commercial data processing. At his 1973 retirement dinner, Thomas Watson Jr., recognized LaMotte as one of his key associates. IBM has since recognized LaMotte as one of 50 Builders who grew IBM's operations, infrastructure, and identity.

James Rhyne Killian Jr. was the 10th president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, from 1948 until 1959.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology University in Massachusetts

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1861 in response to the increasing industrialization of the United States, MIT adopted a European polytechnic university model and stressed laboratory instruction in applied science and engineering. The institute is a land-grant, sea-grant and space-grant university with campus extends more than a mile along side the Charles river. The institute is traditionally known for its research and education in the physical sciences, engineering and architecture, but more recently in biology, economics, linguistics, management, and social science and art as well. MIT is often ranked among the world's top five universities.

Service in New York City

While living in New York City, Douglas held several service leadership positions. He chaired the Radio Committee for radio advertising for the American Red Cross's 1944 campaign to raise New York City's share of the $200,000,000 fundraising goal. [11] He also served on the Board of Managers for YMCA's Sloane House [3] and on the industry committee for the U.S. Savings Bond Division of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. [12]

American Red Cross also known as the American National Red Cross, is a humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief and education in the United States.

The American Red Cross (ARC), also known as The American National Red Cross, is a humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. It is the designated US affiliate of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and the United States movement to the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.

YMCA worldwide organization

The Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA), sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries from 120 national associations. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by Sir George Williams in London and aims to put Christian principles into practice by developing a healthy "body, mind, and spirit".

Sloane House YMCA

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In 1951, Douglas chaired the Office Equipment Committee for the Cerebral Palsy Society of New York's city-wide fundraising campaign. The committee sought to raise money from the office equipment industry to assist the $750,000 campaign. [13] The following year, Doctors Hospital in Manhattan elected him president of their Board of Directors. [14]

Doctors Hospital was a hospital located at 170 East End Avenue, between 87th and 88th Streets opposite Gracie Mansion in the Yorkville neighborhood of Manhattan. It served as the primary maternity hospital for uptown Manhattan births. It was also known as a "fashionable treatment center for the well-to-do."

Manhattan Borough in New York City and county in New York, United States

Manhattan, often referred to locally as the City, is the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City and its economic and administrative center, cultural identifier, and historical birthplace. The borough is coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state of New York. The borough consists mostly of Manhattan Island, bounded by the Hudson, East, and Harlem rivers; several small adjacent islands; and Marble Hill, a small neighborhood now on the U.S. mainland, physically connected to the Bronx and separated from the rest of Manhattan by the Harlem River. Manhattan Island is divided into three informally bounded components, each aligned with the borough's long axis: Lower, Midtown, and Upper Manhattan.

Family

Douglas married Katherine Willauer Douglas in Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts, a community on Martha's Vineyard, on July 7, 1934. His father Charles, the minister at Christ Episcopal Church in Short Hills, New Jersey, officiated the wedding. [15] Douglas and Katherine Douglas had three children together: Malcolm, Katherine, and Elizabeth.

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References

  1. ↑ "Office Equipment Group Elects Him President". The New York Times. November 5, 1948.
  2. ↑ "Edward M. Douglas; Was IBM Vice President". The Boston Globe. February 17, 1983.
  3. 1 2 3 "E. M. Douglas Named Officer By IBM Board". The Binghamton Press. June 5, 1946.
  4. ↑ "Edward M. Douglas". The New York Times. February 18, 1983.
  5. ↑ "International Business Machines Establishes New England District". The Hartford Courant. October 16, 1935.
  6. ↑ "Named Vice President of Business Machines". The New York Times. June 5, 1946.
  7. ↑ "IBM Executives in New Posts". The New York Times. May 3, 1952.
  8. ↑ "IBM Places Vice President on Its Board of Directors". The New York Times. December 17, 1947.
  9. ↑ "M.I.T. Chairman Elected to I.B.M.'s Directorate". The New York Times. September 30, 1959.
  10. ↑ "WATSON FUNERAL ATTENDED BY 1,200; Overflow Crowd at Brick Church Hears Tribute to I.B.M. Industrialist 'Singleness of Mind'; 42 Honorary Pallbearers". The New York Times. June 22, 1955.
  11. ↑ "To Aid Red Cross Drive; Assistants Are Named by the Public Information Chairman". The New York Times. January 19, 1944.
  12. ↑ Harvard Alumni Bulletin. 55 (10): 412.Missing or empty |title= (help)
  13. ↑ "People in the News". Office Management and Equipment. 12: 70. 1951.
  14. ↑ "Elected to Presidency of Doctors Hospital". The New York Times. July 14, 1952.
  15. ↑ "A Garden Wedding for Miss Willauer; She Becomes the Bride of E. M. Douglas in Ceremony at Martha's Vineyard. Has Seven Attendants; Bridegroom't Father, Rector of Episcopal Church at Short Hills, N. J., Officiates". The New York Times. July 8, 1934.
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