Drawing for a Calculating Machine

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Description

This drawing by William Seward Burroughs is from his first patent application for a calculating machine—an important step toward the modern computer. A sometime clerk, box maker, and mechanic, Burroughs resolved to invent a machine that could add automatically and print the result. He was issued the patent on August 21, 1888.

Citation

This primary source comes from the Records of the Patent and Trademark Office.

National Archives Identifier: 595511

Full Citation: Drawing for a Calculating Machine; 8/21/1888; 388,116; 388116 – Calculating Machine – William S. Burroughs; Selected Patent Files, 1840–2005; Records of the Patent and Trademark Office, Record Group 241; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD. [Online Version, https://docsteach.org/document/drawing-calculating-machine/, April 6, 2026]

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