Laurens Hammond’s place among the pantheon of great inventors of modern musical instruments was cemented by his invention of the Hammond Organ in 1935. However, Hammond is in fact a storied inventor of all sorts of interesting things. Born in 1895, he graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering from Cornell University and served in the American army during World War I before becoming chief engineer for the Gray Motor Company, where he worked on marine engines.
His invention of a spring-driven clock in 1919 led to his founding the Hammond Clock Company in 1928, and it was in 1933 that he began experimenting with musical instruments, culminating in the invention of the tonewheel organ in 1935. The organ was well engineered, and became immediately well regarded. The patent office rushed to grant him his patent, hoping that he could help employ people during the Great Depression.
During World War II, Hammond helped design guided missile systems, and was awarded patents for infrared and light-sensing bomb guidance and camera shutter systems. He retired in 1955, and many of the organs that Hammond produced while he ran the company are still in use today. By the time he died at 78 years old in 1973, he held over 110 patents for inventions.