Bill Hewlett

William Redington Hewlett (May 20, 1913 - January 12, 2001) was an American electrical engineer, entrepreneur, and philanthropist who co-founded the Hewlett-Packard Company (HP) with his close friend and Stanford University classmate David Packard in 1939. Often referred to by his nickname "Bill," Hewlett is widely regarded as one of the most important figures in the history of American technology and entrepreneurship, with his partnership with Packard serving as the foundational model for Silicon Valley's distinctive culture of innovation, collaboration, and employee-centered management.

The company that Hewlett and Packard founded in a small garage at 367 Addison Avenue in Palo Alto, California - now designated by the State of California as the "Birthplace of Silicon Valley" - grew from a two-person operation with just $538 in initial capital into one of the world's largest technology companies, with nearly $50 billion in annual revenues and over 90,000 employees in 120 countries at the time of Hewlett's death. Hewlett-Packard's remarkable success was built upon a distinctive management philosophy known as "The HP Way," which emphasized respect for employees, decentralized decision-making, open communication, and a commitment to continuous innovation. This corporate culture, largely developed and championed by Hewlett, influenced countless technology companies and fundamentally shaped the business practices of Silicon Valley.

Beyond his role as a business leader, Hewlett distinguished himself as an engineer whose technical contributions helped establish HP's reputation for producing high-quality precision instruments. The company's first commercial product - the HP 200A audio oscillator, developed primarily by Hewlett - was purchased by Walt Disney Studios for use in the production of the groundbreaking animated film Fantasia (1940), marking the beginning of HP's long history of technological innovation. Throughout his career, Hewlett remained deeply engaged with engineering and product development, personally overseeing the creation of numerous products that pushed the boundaries of electronic measurement and computing.

Hewlett also made significant contributions to American society through his military service during World War II, his involvement in education and scientific research, and his extensive philanthropic activities. He served with distinction in the United States Army Signal Corps, rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel and leading technical teams that inspected Japanese industry following the war. In 1966, he and his first wife Flora established the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, which became one of the largest and most influential private foundations in the United States, with assets exceeding $14 billion by the 2020s. The foundation has made transformative contributions to education, environmental protection, global development, and the performing arts.

At the time of his death in 2001, Hewlett's personal fortune was estimated at approximately $9.4 billion, making him one of the wealthiest Americans. He bequeathed approximately $6 billion to the Hewlett Foundation, dramatically expanding its capacity to address critical social challenges. His legacy extends far beyond his financial success, however, encompassing his role in creating the technological and entrepreneurial ecosystem that transformed the Santa Clara Valley into the global center of technological innovation, his pioneering approaches to management and corporate culture, and his lifelong commitment to using wealth and knowledge for the benefit of society.

Early life and family background

Ancestry and parents

William Redington Hewlett was born on May 20, 1913, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the second child and only son of Albion Walter Hewlett and Louise Redington Hewlett. His family background reflected a tradition of intellectual achievement and professional distinction that would profoundly influence his own trajectory. The Hewlett family traced its roots to England, with ancestors who had emigrated to America during the colonial period and established themselves in various professional fields across several generations.

Albion Walter Hewlett, Bill's father, was a distinguished physician and medical researcher who had built an impressive career in academic medicine. Born in 1872, Albion Hewlett pursued his medical education at some of the finest institutions of his era, earning his medical degree from Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons. He went on to conduct advanced research in Europe, studying under leading physicians in Germany and Austria during a period when European medical schools represented the pinnacle of medical science. His research focused on cardiovascular medicine and clinical diagnosis, and he became recognized as one of the leading internists of his generation.

At the time of Bill Hewlett's birth, Albion Hewlett was serving on the faculty of the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor, where he had established himself as a respected researcher and educator. His position at Michigan provided the family with a comfortable middle-class existence and exposed young Bill to an environment that valued education, scientific inquiry, and intellectual curiosity from his earliest years. Albion Hewlett was known among his colleagues as a meticulous researcher with exacting standards - qualities that would later be reflected in his son's approach to engineering and business.

Louise Redington Hewlett, Bill's mother, came from a prominent San Francisco family with deep roots in California's commercial and civic life. The Redington family had been active in San Francisco since the mid-nineteenth century and had accumulated considerable wealth and social standing through various business ventures. Louise brought to her marriage not only social connections but also a strong commitment to education and cultural refinement. She was well-educated by the standards of her era and maintained high expectations for her children's intellectual development.

Bill had an older sister, Louise, who had been born several years before him. The siblings would remain close throughout their lives, and the family's emphasis on mutual support and loyalty influenced Bill's later approach to building corporate culture at Hewlett-Packard. The Hewlett family, though not wealthy by the standards of the industrial magnates of the era, enjoyed a comfortable and intellectually stimulating home environment that nurtured Bill's developing curiosity about how things worked.

Childhood in Ann Arbor and move to California

Bill Hewlett's earliest years were spent in the university town of Ann Arbor, surrounded by the academic atmosphere of the University of Michigan campus. Even as a young child, he displayed an unusual curiosity about mechanical and electrical devices, frequently taking apart household items to understand their inner workings. His father, though deeply occupied with his medical research and teaching duties, encouraged this curiosity and provided Bill with tools and materials for his early experiments.

In 1916, when Bill was just three years old, the family's circumstances changed dramatically. Albion Hewlett was offered a prestigious faculty position at Stanford University's School of Medicine, which was then located in San Francisco rather than on the Palo Alto campus. The opportunity represented a significant advancement in Albion's career and brought the family to California, where they would establish deep roots in the San Francisco Bay Area. The move would prove fateful for Bill Hewlett in ways that no one could have predicted, as it placed him in the geographic and intellectual environment that would eventually give rise to Silicon Valley.

The Hewletts settled in San Francisco, where Albion Hewlett continued his distinguished career in medical education and research. The city in the late 1910s and early 1920s was a vibrant, cosmopolitan center recovering from the devastation of the 1906 earthquake and fire. Bill spent his formative years exploring the rebuilt city, developing an appreciation for the innovative spirit that had allowed San Francisco to rise from the ashes. The Bay Area's natural beauty - its mountains, forests, and coastline - also made a deep impression on the young boy and fostered a lifelong love of the outdoors that would later influence his philanthropic priorities.

Tragedy and its aftermath

The Hewlett family's comfortable existence was shattered in 1925 when Albion Walter Hewlett died of a brain tumor at the age of 53. Bill was just twelve years old when he lost his father, and the impact of this tragedy reverberated throughout his formative years. The loss of his father at such a young age left Bill without the guidance of the man who had first encouraged his interest in science and technology, and it created significant financial challenges for the family.

Louise Hewlett suddenly found herself a widow with two children to raise and educate. While the Redington family provided some support, and Albion had left behind modest savings and life insurance, the family's financial circumstances were considerably reduced from what they had been during Albion's tenure as a Stanford faculty member. Louise Hewlett proved to be a resourceful and determined mother, however, maintaining her commitment to her children's education even as she navigated the challenges of single parenthood.

For Bill, his father's death was a profound emotional blow that shaped his character in lasting ways. The experience taught him self-reliance and resilience at an early age, qualities that would serve him well throughout his career as an entrepreneur. It also deepened his appreciation for the importance of family relationships and financial security - values that would later influence his approach to managing employees at Hewlett-Packard. Those who knew Hewlett later in life noted his reserve and emotional restraint, characteristics that some attributed to the early loss of his father and the need to assume adult responsibilities at a young age.

Education challenges and discovery of dyslexia

Bill Hewlett's early education was complicated by a condition that would not be properly understood or diagnosed for decades: dyslexia. Throughout his school years, Hewlett struggled with reading and writing in ways that puzzled his teachers and frustrated his efforts. Despite coming from an intellectually accomplished family and possessing obvious intelligence and curiosity, he performed inconsistently in his academic work, particularly in subjects that required extensive reading.

During the early twentieth century, learning disabilities such as dyslexia were poorly understood by educators and medical professionals. Children who struggled with reading were often labeled as slow, lazy, or uncooperative, and there were few resources available to help them develop compensatory strategies. Hewlett faced these challenges largely on his own, developing workarounds that allowed him to succeed despite his difficulties with written language. He became adept at absorbing information through observation and hands-on experience rather than through reading, a skill that would serve him well as an engineer.

The experience of dealing with dyslexia without understanding what was happening likely contributed to Hewlett's later empathy for employees who faced difficulties and his belief in looking beyond surface appearances to recognize people's true abilities. Throughout his career at Hewlett-Packard, he championed an approach to hiring and management that focused on people's potential and capabilities rather than their credentials or conventional markers of success. In later years, as awareness of dyslexia grew, Hewlett spoke more openly about his own experiences and became an advocate for understanding and accommodating learning differences.

Lowell High School

Bill Hewlett attended Lowell High School in San Francisco, one of the city's most academically prestigious public high schools. Founded in 1856, Lowell had a reputation for academic rigor and had produced many distinguished alumni in various fields. For Hewlett, the school provided his first real exposure to a challenging academic environment and helped him develop the study skills and work habits that would serve him at Stanford.

At Lowell, Hewlett's high school years were not academically noteworthy in the conventional sense. His dyslexia continued to create challenges in his coursework, and he was far from the top of his class academically. However, he excelled in areas that allowed him to apply his natural mechanical aptitude and problem-solving abilities. He showed particular promise in mathematics and science courses, where his difficulties with reading were less of an impediment.

One notable aspect of Hewlett's high school experience was his participation in the school's Army Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) program. He demonstrated leadership abilities in this program, eventually serving as Battalion Commander during the 1929-1930 academic year, his senior year. This role required him to organize and lead his fellow students, providing early experience in the kind of leadership he would later exercise at Hewlett-Packard. His success in JROTC suggested that his academic struggles did not reflect any deficiency in intelligence or capability but rather the specific challenges of a learning disability that was not yet understood.

Despite his uneven academic record, Hewlett graduated from Lowell High School in 1930 and set his sights on attending Stanford University. His path to Stanford would not be straightforward, however, as his father's death had deprived him of an important advocate who might have smoothed his admission. The circumstances of his acceptance would reveal both the importance of personal connections and the opportunities that could arise from tragedy.

Education

Stanford University: Undergraduate years

Bill Hewlett's enrollment at Stanford University in the fall of 1930 came about through circumstances that combined personal tragedy with institutional loyalty. Stanford's admissions committee reportedly accepted Hewlett at least in part as a gesture of respect and gratitude toward his late father, Albion Walter Hewlett, who had served on the medical school faculty. This act of institutional kindness would prove to be one of the most consequential decisions in the history of American technology, as it set in motion the events that would lead to the founding of Hewlett-Packard and the emergence of Silicon Valley.

Arriving on the Stanford campus as a seventeen-year-old freshman, Hewlett entered a university that was still relatively young by the standards of American higher education. Founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford and his wife Jane in memory of their son, Stanford had quickly established itself as a leading institution of higher learning on the West Coast. Unlike the established universities of the East, Stanford had a somewhat more practical and entrepreneurial orientation, with strong programs in engineering and the applied sciences that reflected the needs of the developing western economy.

Hewlett chose to major in electrical engineering, a decision that aligned with his natural interests in electronics and practical problem-solving. The electrical engineering program at Stanford in the early 1930s was relatively small but growing, and it benefited from the presence of faculty members who were pushing the boundaries of their field. The most important of these for Hewlett's future would be Frederick Emmons Terman, a young professor who would become his mentor, his business advisor, and ultimately one of the architects of Silicon Valley.

The influence of Frederick Terman

Frederick Terman, born in 1900, had earned his doctorate in electrical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology under the legendary Vannevar Bush, who would later become the director of the Office of Scientific Research and Development during World War II and a principal architect of America's postwar science policy. Terman returned to Stanford in 1925 and quickly established himself as an innovative teacher and researcher who was particularly interested in radio engineering and electronics.

Terman's teaching philosophy differed markedly from that of many engineering professors of his era. Rather than focusing exclusively on theoretical principles, he emphasized practical applications and encouraged his students to think about how their engineering skills could be applied to create useful products. He also maintained close ties with industry and helped place his students in positions where they could apply their knowledge. Most unusually for a professor of his time, Terman actively encouraged his best students to consider starting their own companies in the Bay Area rather than seeking employment with the established electronics firms on the East Coast.

Hewlett took several of Terman's classes during his undergraduate years and quickly caught the professor's attention. Despite his struggles with dyslexia, Hewlett proved to be a talented and intuitive engineer who could grasp complex technical concepts and apply them creatively. Terman recognized in Hewlett not just technical ability but also the practical intelligence and personal integrity that suggested he might succeed as an entrepreneur. This recognition would shape Terman's subsequent efforts to encourage Hewlett and David Packard to go into business together.

During his time at Stanford, Hewlett also became acquainted with David Packard, a fellow electrical engineering student who was two years ahead of him. Packard, born in Pueblo, Colorado, had come to Stanford in 1930 and was already one of Terman's star students by the time Hewlett arrived on campus. The two young men developed a friendship based on their shared interests in electronics and outdoor activities, though their paths would diverge temporarily after Packard's graduation in 1934.

Social life and fraternity membership

Beyond his academic pursuits, Hewlett participated actively in Stanford's social life. He joined the Kappa Sigma fraternity, where he found a community of like-minded young men and developed the social skills that would serve him well in his later business career. The fraternity experience exposed Hewlett to students from different backgrounds and helped him develop the collaborative approach to relationships that would characterize his partnership with Packard and his management style at HP.

Hewlett's fraternity brothers remembered him as intelligent, reserved, and somewhat shy, but also as a loyal friend with a quiet sense of humor. He was not a campus leader or social lion in the conventional sense, but he earned the respect of his peers through his dependability and integrity. These qualities - along with his engineering abilities - would later make him an effective counterbalance to the more outgoing and forceful David Packard.

Hewlett graduated from Stanford in 1934 with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering. His academic performance had improved significantly from his troubled high school years, reflecting both his growing maturity and his focus on subjects that played to his strengths. More importantly, he had established relationships - with Terman, with Packard, and with the Stanford community more broadly - that would shape the rest of his life.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Following his graduation from Stanford, Hewlett continued his education at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he enrolled in the graduate program in electrical engineering. MIT in the 1930s was widely regarded as the preeminent institution for engineering education in the United States, and attending graduate school there allowed Hewlett to study under some of the leading minds in the field while also expanding his technical knowledge beyond what was available at Stanford.

At MIT, Hewlett was exposed to advanced research in electronics, communications, and electrical systems. He studied under faculty members who were pushing the boundaries of electrical engineering and gained experience with research techniques and technologies that were not yet widely available elsewhere. His time at MIT also gave him perspective on the East Coast's established technology industry, centered on companies like General Electric, Western Electric, and RCA, which would later inform his understanding of how Hewlett-Packard could differentiate itself in the marketplace.

Hewlett earned his Master of Science degree in electrical engineering from MIT in 1936, completing a thesis that demonstrated his technical abilities and prepared him for advanced work in his field. His MIT experience had been valuable, but it also reinforced his attachment to California and his desire to return to the West Coast. Unlike many of his MIT classmates who sought positions with the large electronics companies of the East, Hewlett was determined to make his career in the Bay Area.

Return to Stanford: The engineer's degree

After earning his master's degree from MIT, Hewlett returned to Stanford University to pursue further graduate study. He enrolled in the program leading to the Engineer's Degree, an advanced professional degree that Stanford's engineering school offered as an alternative to the traditional Ph.D. This degree required significant coursework and a substantial engineering project but placed less emphasis on pure research and more on practical engineering capability.

Hewlett's return to Stanford brought him back into Terman's orbit at a crucial moment. Terman, who had maintained contact with both Hewlett and Packard during their time away from Stanford, now saw an opportunity to realize his vision of creating a technology industry in the Bay Area. He encouraged Hewlett to focus his engineering project on developing a practical device that might serve as the foundation for a new company.

Development of the audio oscillator

For his Engineer's degree project, Hewlett developed an audio oscillator - a device that generates electrical signals at specific frequencies for use in testing audio equipment. The HP 200A, as it would later be called, was based on a relatively new approach using a Wien bridge oscillator circuit that offered significant advantages over existing designs. Hewlett's key innovation was the use of an ordinary incandescent light bulb as a stabilizing element in the circuit, an elegant solution that reduced the complexity and cost of the device while improving its performance.

The development of the audio oscillator was guided by Terman, who provided not only technical advice but also encouragement to think about the commercial possibilities of the device. Terman recognized that Hewlett's oscillator represented a genuine advance over existing products and could serve as the foundation for a viable business. He urged Hewlett to consider starting a company to manufacture and sell the device, suggesting that his friend David Packard might be an ideal business partner.

Hewlett completed his Engineer's degree from Stanford in 1939, the same year that he and Packard would formally establish their partnership. His educational journey - from his troubled early years struggling with dyslexia to his advanced engineering degree from Stanford - had prepared him technically for the challenges ahead. More importantly, it had connected him with the mentor and partner who would help him transform his technical abilities into one of the greatest business success stories of the twentieth century.

Career

The founding of Hewlett-Packard

The origins of Hewlett-Packard can be traced to conversations between Bill Hewlett and David Packard that began in the summer of 1937, when Packard returned to the Bay Area after working for several years at General Electric in Schenectady, New York. The two friends had maintained their relationship during Packard's time on the East Coast, and when Packard was offered a fellowship to return to Stanford for graduate study - an arrangement partly engineered by Frederick Terman - they began seriously discussing the possibility of starting a business together.

Terman played a crucial role in bringing the partnership to fruition. He saw in Hewlett and Packard a complementary pair of talents: Hewlett with his inventive genius and technical intuition, Packard with his organizational abilities and business sense. Terman encouraged them to begin collaborating immediately, even as they completed their graduate work, and provided them with small consulting projects that allowed them to begin working together and generating some income.

In August 1938, David Packard and his new wife Lucile moved into a small first-floor apartment at 367 Addison Avenue in Palo Alto. The property included a one-car garage that would become the headquarters of their nascent enterprise. Bill Hewlett, who was not yet married, lived in a small shed on the property, sleeping in quarters that were rustic even by Depression-era standards. The arrangement allowed the two partners to work together closely while keeping their overhead to an absolute minimum.

On January 1, 1939, Hewlett and Packard formally established their partnership, with initial capital of just $538. The ordering of their names - "Hewlett-Packard" rather than "Packard-Hewlett" - was decided by a coin flip, a method that reflected the egalitarian spirit that would characterize their partnership for the next six decades. Neither man sought to dominate the other, and the coin flip established from the very beginning that they would operate as true equals.

Early products and the Disney connection

Hewlett-Packard's first commercial product was the HP 200A audio oscillator, based on the design that Hewlett had developed for his Stanford engineering degree. The device generated stable, precise audio frequencies and was useful for testing and calibrating audio equipment. The "200A" designation was chosen deliberately: Hewlett and Packard wanted potential customers to think they were buying from an established company with a substantial product line, not a two-man startup operating out of a garage.

The HP 200A offered significant advantages over competing products. It was smaller, lighter, and less expensive than comparable oscillators from established manufacturers, while offering equivalent or superior performance. These characteristics - better performance at lower cost - would become hallmarks of HP products for decades to come. The oscillator sold for $54.40, dramatically undercutting the prices charged by larger competitors.

The young company's big break came when Walt Disney Studios purchased eight HP 200A oscillators (actually the slightly refined HP 200B model) for use in developing the sound system for Fantasia, Disney's ambitious animated film featuring classical music performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra under Leopold Stokowski. Fantasia was one of the first films to use stereophonic sound, and the HP oscillators were used to test and calibrate the sophisticated audio equipment needed to produce the desired effects. The Disney order provided crucial revenue and credibility for the fledgling company.

From this modest beginning, Hewlett-Packard expanded its product line to include a variety of electronic measuring instruments. The company developed oscilloscopes, signal generators, frequency counters, and other devices used by engineers and scientists to measure and analyze electrical signals. Each new product built on the company's growing reputation for quality and value, and revenues grew steadily throughout the late 1930s and early 1940s.

World War II: Military service

The outbreak of World War II following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 transformed both Hewlett-Packard and Bill Hewlett personally. While the company pivoted to producing equipment for the military - demand for electronic testing equipment skyrocketed as the war effort accelerated production of radar, communications systems, and other electronic devices - Hewlett himself felt called to serve his country directly.

In 1941, Hewlett entered the United States Army as a Signal Corps officer. The Signal Corps was responsible for military communications, and Hewlett's expertise in electronics made him a valuable asset. He received his training at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, the Signal Corps' primary training and development center, where he applied his Stanford and MIT education to military applications.

Initially, Hewlett's entry into military service created challenges for the young company. David Packard remained at HP to manage the business, but losing Hewlett's technical expertise was a significant blow. However, the situation was partially resolved when the government recognized Hewlett-Packard as an essential defense contractor and reclassified Hewlett as an essential employee. This allowed him to contribute to the war effort while remaining connected to the company, though he continued his military service in a staff capacity.

Hewlett was moved to a staff position in Washington, D.C., where he worked for the War Department Special Staff. He became head of the electronics section of the New Development Division, a position that put him at the center of efforts to develop and deploy new military technologies. In this role, he helped evaluate emerging technologies and determine how they could be applied to support American forces in the field. He rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel, reflecting both his technical expertise and his leadership abilities.

Late in the war, Hewlett was assigned to the Pacific Theater, where he helped frontline units integrate new technologies into their operations. Following the Japanese surrender in August 1945, he was given an intelligence assignment that took him to Japan as part of a special team tasked with inspecting Japanese industry. This assignment provided Hewlett with invaluable insights into Japanese manufacturing and engineering practices - knowledge that would influence his thinking about production and quality for the rest of his career.

Hewlett was discharged from the military in late 1945 and returned to Palo Alto to rejoin David Packard at Hewlett-Packard. The war years had transformed the company: what had been a tiny operation with a handful of employees had grown into a substantial business with over 200 workers and annual revenues exceeding $1 million. The challenges and opportunities of the postwar period would require both partners to evolve their thinking about how to manage and grow their enterprise.

Post-war expansion and incorporation

The years following World War II marked a period of rapid expansion for Hewlett-Packard. The company had proven its capabilities during the war, and the postwar boom in electronics - driven by the emergence of television, the expansion of commercial aviation, and the growing importance of electronic systems in all areas of industry - created strong demand for HP's precision instruments.

In 1947, Hewlett-Packard incorporated, transforming from a partnership into a corporation. This change reflected the company's growth and provided a structure better suited to attracting investment, issuing stock to employees, and managing an increasingly complex enterprise. The incorporation also formalized the partnership between Hewlett and Packard, establishing a governance structure that would endure for decades.

A decade later, in 1957, Hewlett-Packard conducted an initial public offering (IPO), allowing shares of the company to be traded publicly for the first time. The IPO was highly successful, reflecting investor confidence in the company's management and prospects. Importantly, Hewlett and Packard structured the offering and the company's employee stock programs to ensure that HP workers shared in the company's success - a manifestation of the employee-centered philosophy that would become known as the HP Way.

The HP Way

Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Hewlett and Packard developed and refined the distinctive management philosophy that came to be known as "The HP Way." This approach to running a business, which Hewlett championed as actively as Packard, represented a significant departure from the hierarchical, command-and-control management styles that dominated American industry at the time.

At its core, the HP Way rested on several key principles. First and most fundamental was a deep respect for the individual employee. Hewlett and Packard believed that workers were not merely inputs to be optimized but rather thinking, creative individuals who would contribute more if treated with dignity and given the opportunity to participate meaningfully in their work. This philosophy manifested in policies like profit-sharing (introduced in 1950), employee stock ownership, and flexible work hours - innovations that were ahead of their time.

Second, the HP Way emphasized "Management by Objective" (MBO), an approach in which managers set clear goals for their teams but then gave workers considerable autonomy in determining how to achieve those goals. This contrasted with the detailed supervision and rigid procedures common in many manufacturing companies. Hewlett believed that engineers and other skilled workers knew their jobs better than managers did and should be trusted to exercise judgment in their work.

Third, Hewlett and Packard practiced "Management by Wandering Around" (MBWA), a technique in which leaders spent significant time outside their offices, visiting workspaces, and talking with employees at all levels. This approach kept managers in touch with what was actually happening in the company and created opportunities for informal communication that might not occur through formal channels. Hewlett was known for his regular walks through HP facilities, stopping to chat with engineers and workers and asking questions about their work.

Fourth, the HP Way included an "open door policy" that encouraged employees to raise concerns directly with managers, even bypassing their immediate supervisors if necessary. This policy reflected Hewlett's belief that hierarchies, while necessary for organizational purposes, should not prevent good ideas or legitimate concerns from reaching decision-makers.

The HP Way proved remarkably effective. Employee turnover at HP was consistently lower than at competing companies, and the company developed a reputation as one of the best places to work in American industry. More importantly, the HP Way fostered innovation and quality by giving workers a stake in the company's success and the freedom to pursue creative solutions to technical problems.

The nine-day fortnight

The depth of Hewlett and Packard's commitment to their employees was dramatically demonstrated during the economic recession of 1970, when orders for HP products dropped below the company's production capacity. Faced with a situation that would normally have prompted layoffs, Hewlett and Packard devised an alternative approach that became known as the "nine-day fortnight."

Under this plan, all HP employees - from executives to factory workers - worked only nine days out of every two weeks instead of the normal ten, taking a corresponding 10% reduction in pay. This arrangement spread the economic pain across the entire organization while avoiding the layoffs that would have devastated individual workers and damaged the company's culture. Hewlett himself took the same pay cut as everyone else, demonstrating that the sacrifice was truly shared.

The nine-day fortnight lasted for about six months, until orders recovered sufficiently to restore normal operations. The episode became legendary in HP lore and more broadly in management circles as an example of how companies could respond to economic challenges in ways that preserved both jobs and organizational cohesion. For Hewlett personally, the experience confirmed his belief that treating employees fairly was not just morally right but also good business practice.

Leadership positions at HP

Throughout his career at Hewlett-Packard, Bill Hewlett held various executive positions that reflected the evolving needs of the company and his own changing role within it. In the early years, his contribution was primarily technical: he was the company's chief engineer and principal product developer, responsible for designing many of HP's most important products. As the company grew, however, his responsibilities expanded to include broader strategic and managerial duties.

Hewlett served as president of Hewlett-Packard from 1964 to 1977, a period during which the company expanded dramatically both in size and in the scope of its product offerings. Under his leadership, HP moved beyond its traditional strength in electronic instruments to become a major player in computers and computing systems. The HP 2116A, introduced in 1966, was one of the company's first computers, and it marked the beginning of HP's evolution into the diversified technology company it would become.

From 1968 to 1978, Hewlett served as chief executive officer of HP, the company's top operational leader. In this role, he oversaw the continued growth and diversification of the company while working to preserve the distinctive culture that he and Packard had created. He faced the challenge of maintaining HP's entrepreneurial spirit and employee-centered values even as the company grew into a large corporation with operations around the world.

After stepping down as CEO in 1978, Hewlett remained deeply involved with the company in governance roles. He served as chairman of the executive committee until 1983, then as vice chairman of the board until 1987. Even after relinquishing these formal positions, he remained a presence at HP, visiting facilities, mentoring younger leaders, and serving as a living embodiment of the values on which the company had been built.

Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak

Two of the most famous stories about Bill Hewlett involve the young entrepreneurs who would later found Apple Computer: Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. These encounters illustrate both Hewlett's accessibility and his role in the broader ecosystem of Silicon Valley innovation.

The story of Steve Jobs's encounter with Hewlett has become legendary in Silicon Valley. In 1968 or 1969, when Jobs was approximately twelve years old and living in Mountain View, California, he was building an electronic project - a frequency counter - and needed parts he couldn't obtain locally. Someone suggested that he try calling Bill Hewlett directly. Jobs looked up Hewlett in the phone book - remarkably, the co-founder of one of the largest technology companies in the world still had a listed number - and made the call.

To Jobs's surprise, Hewlett himself answered the phone. Rather than dismissing the young caller, Hewlett engaged him in a conversation about his project that lasted about twenty minutes. Hewlett not only arranged for Jobs to receive the parts he needed but also offered him a summer job at HP, working on an assembly line putting together frequency counters. "I was in heaven," Jobs later recalled.

The experience made a lasting impression on Jobs, who often cited it as an example of the importance of simply asking for what you want. More broadly, it demonstrated Hewlett's genuine interest in young people and his willingness to take time for aspiring engineers regardless of their age or background. The encounter also foreshadowed the role that HP alumni and HP technology would play in the founding of Apple.

The story of Steve Wozniak's relationship with HP is more bittersweet. Wozniak worked at HP in the 1970s, designing calculators, and was by his own account deeply loyal to the company. When he developed the design that would become the Apple I computer, he felt obligated to offer it to HP first. The company declined - not once but five times, according to Wozniak - viewing personal computers as outside its core business.

Wozniak's repeated efforts to interest HP in the personal computer, and the company's repeated rejections, has been cited as one of the great missed opportunities in technology history. However, Hewlett himself apparently took the outcome in stride. According to some accounts, when asked about HP's failure to pursue the personal computer opportunity represented by Wozniak's design, Hewlett philosophically observed, "You win some, you lose some."

The Apple connection illustrates both the strengths and limitations of the large corporate organizations that Hewlett helped build. HP's culture of supporting and encouraging engineers created an environment that nurtured Wozniak's talents and gave him the resources to develop his personal computer design. Yet the same organizational structures that made HP successful also made it difficult for the company to recognize and pursue truly disruptive innovations that fell outside its established business model.

Other board memberships and business activities

Beyond his roles at Hewlett-Packard, Bill Hewlett served on the boards of several other prominent companies and organizations, reflecting his stature in the American business community and his broad interests.

Hewlett was a director of Hexcel Products Incorporated (later Hexcel Corporation), a company that manufactured advanced composite materials, from 1956 to 1965. He also served on the company's executive committee. This connection came through family ties: Hexcel was founded by Roscoe "Bud" Hughes, the brother-in-law of Hewlett's first wife, Flora. Hewlett's involvement with Hexcel exposed him to industries beyond electronics and gave him perspective on manufacturing and materials science.

In 1966, Hewlett was elected to the board of directors of Chrysler Corporation, one of the "Big Three" American automobile manufacturers. He served in this capacity until 1983, a period that encompassed Chrysler's near-bankruptcy in the late 1970s and its dramatic revival under Lee Iacocca. His experience on the Chrysler board gave him insights into the challenges facing traditional American manufacturing industries and the different management approaches used in other sectors.

Hewlett also served as a director of Chase Manhattan Bank (which later became part of JPMorgan Chase) from 1969 to 1980. This position connected him to the American financial establishment and provided perspective on capital markets and corporate finance. His service on the Chase board reflected the growing importance of technology companies in the American economy and the interest of financial institutions in having technologically sophisticated voices in their governance.

Professional activities

Throughout his career, Hewlett was active in professional engineering organizations. He served as president of the Institute of Radio Engineers (IRE) in 1954, one of the predecessor organizations to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). This position recognized his technical contributions and his standing within the engineering community.

His leadership of the IRE came during a period of rapid change in electronics, as vacuum tubes gave way to transistors and the foundations of the digital age were being laid. In this role, Hewlett helped shape the profession's response to technological change and encouraged the development of educational and professional standards that would prepare engineers for the emerging era of semiconductors and computing.

Philanthropy

The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation

Bill Hewlett's philanthropic activities centered on the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, which he established with his first wife in 1966. The foundation became one of the largest and most influential private foundations in the United States, with a scope and impact that extended far beyond what might have been expected from its modest beginnings.

The founding of the Hewlett Foundation reflected Bill and Flora's shared commitment to using their wealth to benefit society. By the mid-1960s, Hewlett-Packard had grown into a major corporation, and the Hewletts' stake in the company represented significant wealth. Rather than waiting until the end of their lives to dispose of this fortune, they chose to establish a foundation that could begin making a difference immediately while also involving their children in philanthropic decision-making.

The founding board members of the Hewlett Foundation were Bill, Flora, and their eldest son Walter, who was then a 22-year-old Harvard graduate. This family-centered structure allowed the Hewletts to pass on their philanthropic values to the next generation while also ensuring continuity in the foundation's leadership. Later, the Hewletts' other children - James, William A., Eleanor, and Mary - also joined the board, creating a family enterprise dedicated to charitable giving.

In the early years, which Walter Hewlett later described as "the living room years," the foundation's board met in the family home, and decisions about grants were made in an informal, collaborative manner. This approach allowed family members to learn about philanthropy together and to develop a shared understanding of the foundation's mission and values. Bill was particularly emphatic about one principle that guided his giving: "Never stifle a generous impulse."

As the Hewletts' fortune grew along with HP's success, so too did the foundation's resources. Bill Hewlett continued to transfer stock and other assets to the foundation throughout his life, building its endowment and expanding its capacity to make grants. When he died in 2001, his estate bequeathed approximately $6 billion to the foundation, dramatically increasing its resources.

By the 2020s, the Hewlett Foundation had grown to have assets of approximately $14 billion, making it one of the wealthiest foundations in the United States. Its grantmaking activities span multiple areas, including education, the environment, global development and population, the performing arts, and philanthropy itself. The foundation has made transformative contributions in each of these areas, reflecting the breadth of Bill Hewlett's interests and his belief in addressing a wide range of social challenges.

Focus areas of philanthropy

Bill Hewlett's philanthropic giving, both through the foundation and personally, focused on several major areas that reflected his values and experiences.

Education: Hewlett was a passionate believer in the importance of education, and educational institutions received substantial support from both him personally and from the Hewlett Foundation. Stanford University, his alma mater, was a particular beneficiary. Hewlett made major gifts to Stanford's engineering school and other programs, helping the university maintain its position as a leading center for technology education and research. The William R. Hewlett Teaching Center at Stanford, located in the Science and Engineering Quad adjacent to the David Packard Electrical Engineering Building, was named in his honor in 1999. Other universities, including the University of California, Berkeley, also received significant support.

Environment and Conservation: Hewlett's love of the outdoors, developed during his childhood in California and nurtured throughout his life, translated into a strong commitment to environmental protection and conservation. The Hewlett Foundation became a major funder of environmental initiatives, supporting efforts to protect natural areas, address climate change, and promote sustainable development. Hewlett personally supported various conservation organizations and initiatives that protected the California landscapes he loved.

Global Development and Population: The Hewlett Foundation developed a significant focus on global development issues, particularly in Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America. The foundation supported programs addressing population growth, reproductive health, and women's rights, reflecting a belief that empowering individuals to make their own decisions about family size was crucial for development. These programs were sometimes controversial, but the foundation maintained its commitment based on research suggesting their effectiveness.

Conflict Resolution: In later years, the Hewlett Foundation expanded into supporting conflict resolution initiatives, particularly in regions like Eastern Europe and the Middle East. This focus reflected a belief that peaceful resolution of disputes was essential for human progress and that philanthropic resources could play a valuable role in fostering dialogue and understanding.

Performing Arts: Both Bill and Flora Hewlett were supporters of the performing arts, and the foundation became a significant funder of arts organizations, particularly in the San Francisco Bay Area. Support for symphony orchestras, theaters, and other arts institutions reflected a belief in the importance of cultural life and a desire to ensure that the Bay Area community that had supported HP's growth also benefited from cultural enrichment.

The Public Policy Institute of California

In 1994, Bill Hewlett founded the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC), an independent, nonpartisan research organization dedicated to informing and improving public policy in California. The institute conducts research and provides information on a wide range of policy issues facing the state, including education, the economy, population dynamics, governance, and water resources.

The creation of PPIC reflected Hewlett's belief in the importance of evidence-based policymaking and his concern that California's policy debates often lacked grounding in solid research. By establishing an institution dedicated to producing rigorous, nonpartisan analysis, he hoped to improve the quality of public deliberation and help policymakers make more informed decisions.

PPIC has become one of the most respected policy research organizations in California, regularly providing analysis that informs state budget debates, legislative decisions, and public discussions about the future of the state. Its work on topics such as California's water challenges, the state's changing demographics, and the performance of the state's education system has shaped public understanding and influenced policy choices.

Personal giving

Beyond his foundation, Bill Hewlett made significant personal gifts throughout his life. He donated to universities, museums, research institutions, and community organizations, often preferring to support causes close to his heart rather than seeking recognition or publicity. Those who knew him emphasized that he gave quietly and generously, consistent with his modest personal style.

Personal life

First marriage to Flora Lamson

Bill Hewlett married Flora Lamson in 1939, the same year that he and David Packard formally established their partnership. The timing was not coincidental: marriage and the founding of HP represented parallel commitments that marked Hewlett's transition to full adulthood.

Flora Lamson came from a prominent California family with deep roots in the San Francisco Bay Area. She was well-educated and shared Bill's intellectual curiosity and commitment to public service. Their wedding took place at a time when both Bill and David Packard were just beginning their business venture, and Flora's support was crucial to the young enterprise. In the earliest days of HP, when the partners were working out of the garage at 367 Addison Avenue, Flora - like Lucile Packard - provided moral support and practical assistance that helped keep the fragile startup going.

The Hewletts' marriage lasted 38 years, until Flora's death in 1977. During this time, they raised five children together and built both a fortune and a family legacy. Those who knew the couple described them as devoted partners who complemented each other well: Bill with his engineering mind and business acumen, Flora with her social skills and commitment to community involvement. Their partnership extended into philanthropy, with Flora playing an active role in establishing and guiding the Hewlett Foundation.

Flora Hewlett's death after nearly four decades of marriage was a profound loss for Bill. Those close to him observed that he was deeply affected by her passing, though consistent with his reserved personality, he kept his grief largely private. The foundation they had created together became, in part, a memorial to their shared values and their commitment to making a difference in the world.

Children and grandchildren

Bill and Flora Hewlett had five children: Eleanor, Walter, James, William A., and Mary. Each of these children was exposed to the values of hard work, integrity, and community service that characterized their parents, and several became active in business, philanthropy, and public affairs.

Walter B. Hewlett, the eldest son, became the most publicly visible of the Hewlett children. He served on the board of the Hewlett Foundation from its founding and became chairman of the board, a position he held until 2014. Walter was also involved in various business activities and became known in the technology world for his opposition to HP's proposed merger with Compaq Computer in 2002 - a merger he believed was not in the best interests of HP shareholders. His public fight against the merger put him at odds with HP's management and demonstrated that the Hewlett name still carried significant weight in Silicon Valley.

The Hewletts' daughter Eleanor Hewlett Gimon became active in philanthropy, serving on the board of the Hewlett Foundation and helping to establish the Flora Family Foundation, a separate organization created to engage the next generation of Hewlett descendants in charitable giving. Mary Hewlett Jaffe similarly pursued philanthropic activities, serving on the Hewlett Foundation board.

James S. Hewlett and William A. Hewlett also served on the Hewlett Foundation board at various times, contributing to the family's collective philanthropic efforts. Together, the Hewlett children maintained the legacy of their parents while also pursuing their own interests and initiatives.

By the time of Bill Hewlett's death, he had 12 grandchildren, representing the continuation of the family legacy into a new generation. The structures that Bill and Flora had put in place - including both the Hewlett Foundation and the Flora Family Foundation - were designed in part to engage these grandchildren in philanthropy and to pass on the values that had guided the family.

Second marriage to Rosemary Bradford

In 1978, a year after Flora's death, Bill Hewlett married Rosemary Kopmeier Bradford. Rosemary, like Flora, came from a background of education and culture, and she shared Bill's interests in many areas. Their marriage provided companionship and support during the later decades of Bill's life, as he transitioned from active business leadership to a role as elder statesman and philanthropist.

Bill and Rosemary's marriage lasted until his death in 2001, a period of 23 years. Those who knew the couple described a warm and supportive relationship that enriched Bill's later years. Rosemary brought her own perspectives and interests to the partnership while also honoring the legacy of Flora and the family that Bill had built with his first wife.

Personality and personal style

Those who knew Bill Hewlett consistently described him as modest, unpretentious, and genuinely interested in other people. Despite building a fortune of nearly $10 billion, he lived relatively simply, avoiding the ostentatious displays of wealth that characterized some of his peers in the business world.

Hewlett continued to drive himself to work for decades, eschewing the chauffeured limousines favored by many corporate executives. At HP, he occupied the same modest office for over forty years, resisting suggestions that his status warranted grander quarters. This personal modesty was not an affectation but a reflection of values instilled in childhood and reinforced by his experiences.

His reserved personality sometimes led people to underestimate him, particularly in contrast to the more outgoing David Packard. But those who worked closely with Hewlett recognized the sharp intelligence and strong will behind his quiet demeanor. He could be firm in his convictions and was not easily swayed by arguments that did not meet his standards for logical rigor and evidence.

Hewlett maintained a sense of humor that revealed itself to those who knew him well. He was known to make dry, understated jokes that caught people off guard, and he appreciated wit and intelligence in others. His emotional reserve did not indicate a lack of feeling but rather a preference for expressing himself through actions rather than words.

Hobbies and interests

Throughout his life, Bill Hewlett maintained a passion for the outdoors that he had developed in his California childhood. He was an avid hiker, camper, and nature enthusiast who found renewal and perspective in wild places. His love of nature influenced his philanthropic priorities, driving his support for environmental conservation and protection of natural areas.

Hewlett was also an amateur photographer and botanist who took particular interest in wildflowers. He photographed wildflowers extensively during his outdoor excursions and collected samples that he later donated to the California Academy of Sciences. This interest combined his scientific curiosity with his love of nature, allowing him to contribute to botanical knowledge while also enjoying the beauty of the natural world.

His interests extended to various cultural pursuits as well. He and Flora supported the performing arts throughout their marriage, attending concerts and theatrical performances and building relationships with arts organizations in the Bay Area. This interest in the arts continued after Flora's death and was reflected in the Hewlett Foundation's substantial support for performing arts organizations.

Dealing with dyslexia

As awareness of learning disabilities grew in the later twentieth century, Bill Hewlett became more open about his lifelong struggle with dyslexia. He spoke about how the condition had affected his education and how he had developed strategies to compensate for his difficulties with reading.

Hewlett's willingness to discuss his dyslexia helped reduce the stigma associated with learning disabilities and provided encouragement to others who faced similar challenges. His remarkable success despite his reading difficulties demonstrated that intelligence and capability take many forms and that traditional academic measures do not capture the full range of human potential.

The experience of dealing with dyslexia may have contributed to Hewlett's philosophy of looking beyond surface appearances to recognize people's true abilities. At HP, he was known for giving opportunities to people who might not have succeeded in more conventional environments - a practice that some attributed to his own experience of being underestimated as a student.

Death and legacy

Final years

Bill Hewlett remained active well into his eighties, though he gradually reduced his formal responsibilities at HP and the Hewlett Foundation. He continued to visit HP facilities, to attend foundation meetings, and to maintain his interest in technology and business developments. His presence at HP remained a link to the company's founding values and a reminder of the principles on which it had been built.

In his final years, Hewlett dealt with the health challenges that come with advanced age. Despite these difficulties, he maintained his characteristic equanimity and continued to engage with family, friends, and the causes he cared about. Those who visited him during this period described a man at peace with himself and with what he had accomplished.

Death

William Redington Hewlett died on January 12, 2001, at his home in Palo Alto, California. He was 87 years old. The cause of death was heart failure. He was buried at Los Gatos Memorial Park in San Jose, California.

Hewlett's death came at a moment of transition for both HP and Silicon Valley more broadly. The technology industry was in the midst of the dot-com bubble's deflation, a period of reckoning after the exuberance of the late 1990s. His passing prompted reflection on the values that had built Silicon Valley's greatest companies and whether those values still held relevance in a changed business environment.

Memorial tributes

News of Hewlett's death prompted an outpouring of tributes from business leaders, politicians, and ordinary citizens. HP issued a statement honoring its co-founder, and flags at HP facilities flew at half-staff. Stanford University, which had benefited enormously from Hewlett's generosity, also marked his passing with appropriate ceremony.

At a memorial service, family members and friends spoke of Hewlett's character and legacy. A grandchild offered a particularly memorable tribute, observing that his grandfather's greatest legacy was "not the compass he could build with his hands, but his moral compass" that was guided by "knowledge, modesty, justice and hard work." This assessment captured the essence of what made Hewlett remarkable: not just his technical and business achievements, but the integrity and values that guided how he achieved them.

Estate and philanthropic legacy

At his death, Bill Hewlett's fortune was estimated at approximately $9.4 billion, making him one of the wealthiest Americans. True to his lifelong commitment to philanthropy, he bequeathed approximately $6 billion to the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, massively expanding its resources and capacity for impact.

This bequest transformed the Hewlett Foundation into one of the largest private foundations in the United States. The expanded resources allowed the foundation to increase its grantmaking dramatically and to take on new initiatives that would not have been possible with its previous assets. In the years following Hewlett's death, the foundation continued the work that he and Flora had begun, addressing challenges in education, the environment, global development, and the arts.

Legacy

Bill Hewlett's legacy extends across multiple dimensions. Most obviously, he helped create one of the most successful technology companies in American history. Hewlett-Packard, at its peak, was a diversified technology giant that manufactured everything from scientific instruments to personal computers to enterprise software. Though the company has since been divided and reorganized, the businesses that trace their lineage to HP remain significant players in the global technology industry.

More fundamentally, Hewlett helped create the distinctive culture and business practices that characterized Silicon Valley. The HP Way, with its emphasis on respect for employees, decentralized management, and continuous innovation, influenced generations of technology entrepreneurs and shaped the expectations of workers throughout the industry. Many of the practices that are now considered standard in technology companies - from casual dress codes to stock options for employees - have their roots in innovations pioneered at HP.

Hewlett's philanthropic legacy continues through the foundation that bears his and Flora's names. The Hewlett Foundation, with its billions of dollars in assets and its ongoing grantmaking programs, touches countless lives each year. Its support for education, environmental protection, global development, and the arts reflects the breadth of Hewlett's interests and his commitment to using wealth for public benefit.

Perhaps most importantly, Bill Hewlett left a legacy of personal integrity and values-based leadership. In an era when business leaders are often viewed with skepticism, Hewlett's example demonstrates that it is possible to build enormous commercial success while also treating people fairly, giving back to the community, and maintaining personal modesty and integrity. This legacy of character may ultimately prove more enduring and more important than any particular product, company, or foundation.

Awards and recognition

Bill Hewlett received numerous awards and honors throughout his career, recognizing both his technical contributions and his broader impact on American business and society.

Scientific and technical awards

• IEEE Founders Medal (1973): Awarded by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers for outstanding contributions in leadership, planning, and administration in the engineering profession.

• Vermilye Medal (1975): Awarded by the Franklin Institute for contributions to engineering.

• National Medal of Science (1983): Presented by President Ronald Reagan, recognizing Hewlett's contributions to engineering and technology. This is one of the highest honors bestowed by the United States government on scientists and engineers.

• National Inventors Hall of Fame (1992): Inducted for his contributions to electronic instrumentation and the founding of Hewlett-Packard.

• Lemelson-MIT Prize Lifetime Achievement Award (1995): Recognizing his career of innovation and invention.

• Heinz Award Chairman's Medal (1997): Awarded jointly with David Packard by the Heinz Foundation for their contributions to technology and society.

Academic memberships and honors

• Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1970): Elected to this prestigious learned society.

• Member, National Academy of Sciences (1977): Elected to the country's premier scientific society, recognizing his contributions to engineering.

• Member, American Philosophical Society (1981): Elected to America's oldest learned society.

Posthumous honors

• Entrepreneur Walk of Fame (2011): Inducted posthumously, recognizing his role as one of America's greatest entrepreneurs.

The William R. Hewlett Teaching Center at Stanford University, named in his honor in 1999, stands as a permanent monument to his contributions to education and his relationship with the university that shaped his life.

See also

• David Packard
• Hewlett-Packard
• The HP Way
• HP Garage
• Silicon Valley
• William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
• Frederick Terman
• Stanford University
• Steve Jobs
• Steve Wozniak
• Apple Inc.

External links

• William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
• Hewlett-Packard official website
• Computer History Museum - includes HP history resources
• Public Policy Institute of California