Program

NYS Historic

Subject

Industry & Commerce, People, Science

Location

2755 Lower Cincinnatus Rd, Cincinnatus, NY 13040, USA

Lat/Long

42.540425, -75.896135

Grant Recipient

Cincinnatus Area Heritage Society

Elmer Ambrose Sperry was born in Cincinnatus, New York on December 1, 1860 to Stephen and Mary Sperry. While the Sperrys were residents of Cortland, NY, it is believed that Elmer was born at the home of his maternal grandparents on Lower Cincinnatus Road (Cortland Standard, April 4, 1932). The marker stands in front of their former home. A 1922 U.S. passport application signed by Elmer Sperry attests to his birth in Cincinnatus.

Sperry held over 300 patents for materials used in ships, airplanes and lighting. His most notable invention was the gyrocompass patented in 1908 which made piloting ships and airplanes more reliable. He founded Sperry Gyroscope Company in Brooklyn, N.Y. and his gyrocompass was first installed on the U.S. battleship Delaware in 1911. Adopted by the U.S. Navy during World War I, it proved so effective that it remained in use throughout World War II. (Who Made America? PBS.org). His gyroscope-guided autopilot became known as “Metal Mike,” the mechanical helmsman. (National Inventors Hall of Fame, Elmer A. Sperry, inducted 1991).

Other companies founded by Sperry include the Electric Mining Machine Company and the Sperry Electric Railroad Company. In 1933, the Sperry Gyroscope Company became the Sperry Corporation which manufactured computers, precision instruments, farm machinery and electric equipment. Later, it would become part of Unisys. (Who Made America? PBS.org)

Elmer Sperry passed away in June 1930 in Brooklyn and was laid to rest in Greenwood Cemetery.