Patrick E. Haggerty

Patrick E. Haggerty was an American electrical engineer and business leader who built Texas Instruments into one of the world's leading technology developers. Born on 17 March 1914 in Harvey, North Dakota, he earned a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from Marquette University in 1936, worked in production management, and during the Second World War headed the Navy Bureau of Aeronautics electronics production branch. In 1945 he joined Geophysical Service Incorporated in Texas as first general manager of its Laboratory and Manufacturing division, which became Texas Instruments in 1951. He rose to president in 1958 and chairman in 1966, and during his tenure the company grew from 554 employees to more than 38,000. Under his leadership Texas Instruments entered the semiconductor business and introduced the first commercially available silicon transistors. He served as IRE president in 1962, co-chaired the committee that merged the IRE and the AIEE into the IEEE, and received the 1968 IEEE Founders Medal.