Home > Aaron Lufkin Dennison
Aaron Lufkin Dennison ( March 6, 1812- January 9, 1895) was an American watchmaker born in Freeport, Maine . 1 His Life
Upon a three year apprenticeship with James Cary , he went to work as a journeyman watchmaker in Boston in 1833. There he followed the advice of Tubal Hone , a fellow American watchmaker, and discovered inaccuracies in the workmanship and construction, of even the best of hand-made watches. He often visited the Springfield armory, predicting that the manufacture of watches would soon be reduced to as much system and perfection as the manufacture firearms. Around 1840 he invented the Dennison Standard Gauge and then began to develop the "Interchangeable System" (the American System of Watch Manufacturing).
Meanwhile, in 1844Events January 15 University of Notre Dame receives its charter from Indiana. February 27 The Dominican Republic gains independence from Haiti. February 28 A gun on the USS Princeton explodes while the boat is on a Potomac River cruise, killing two United, Dennison, who was then also engaged in the jewelry business in Boston, decided that he could make paper boxes better than the imported products. He bought supplies of box board and cover paper and took them the family home in Brunswick, MaineBrunswick, Maine can refer to: Brunswick (town), Maine Brunswick (CDP), Maine., where his father, Col. Andrew Dennison , cut out the first boxes, and his sisters covered them. He developed the box business successfully, but five years later turned it over to his younger brother Eliphalet Whorf Dennison (The Dennison Manufacturing Company, in Framingham, MassachusettsFramingham is a census-designated place located in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA. As of the 2000 census, the CDP had a total population of 66,910, making it the most populous town in Massachusetts. In Massachusetts, the distinction between city and, became the Avery Dennison Corporation with headquarters in Pasadena, CaliforniaPicture of the Colorado Street Bridge Pasadena is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 133,936. It located at 34°10' North, 118°8' West. Pasadena is the main population, upon a merger in 1990Events January January 3 Former leader of Panama Manuel Noriega surrenders to American forces. January 7 The Leaning Tower of Pisa is closed to the public due to safety concerns. January 9 Lt Gen Bazilio Olara Okello The man who led the coup aginst Dr Apo), to pursue watch manufacturing.
In 1849Events January 23 Elizabeth Blackwell is awarded her MD by the Medical Institute of Geneva, New York, thus becoming the United States' first woman doctor January 31 Corn Laws abolished in the United Kingdom February 14 In New York City, James Knox Polk be, Dennison partnered with the clockmaker Edward Howard to manufacture interchangeable movement parts, to enhance quality and lower the price of watches. With capital from mirror manufacturer Samuel Curtis, they started in 1850. In 1854 a new factory was built on the banks of the Charles River, in Waltham, Massachusetts, The company eventually became the Waltham Watch Company, the first company to manufacture interchangeable movement parts, as well as assemble and sell at affordable prices reliable watches, Railroad chronometers, 8-Day Clocks and other timers in the U.S.A.
Dennison moved to Europe in the final years of his life and pursued his career in Switzerland and England, where he died in 1895, in Birmingham.
