17 Facts About David Packard

1.

David Packard was an American electrical engineer and co-founder, with Bill Hewlett, of Hewlett-Packard, serving as president, CEO, and chairman of the board of HP.

2.

David Packard served as US Deputy Secretary of Defense from 1969 to 1971 during the Nixon administration.

3.

David Packard was the recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1988 and is noted for many technological innovations and philanthropic endeavors.

4.

David Packard was born in Pueblo, Colorado, the son of Ella and Sperry Sidney David Packard, an attorney.

5.

David Packard attended Centennial High School, where early on he showed an interest in science, engineering, sports, and leadership.

6.

David Packard briefly attended the University of Colorado at Boulder before taking a position with the General Electric Company in Schenectady, New York.

7.

David Packard grew into the world's largest producer of electronic testing and measurement devices.

8.

HP incorporated in 1947, with David Packard becoming its first president, serving in that role until 1964.

9.

David Packard was then elected chief executive officer and chairman of the board, holding those positions through 1968.

10.

David Packard left HP in 1969 to serve in the Nixon administration until 1971, at which time he returned to HP and was re-elected chairman of the board, serving from 1972 to 1993.

11.

David Packard was criticized for expanding into South Africa, where HP equipment was used to implement apartheid.

12.

David Packard resigned in December 1971 and returned to Hewlett-David Packard in 1972 as chairman of the board.

13.

David Packard served as chairman of The Business Council in 1973 and 1974.

14.

In 1987, David Packard gave $13 million to create the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute.

15.

David Packard was a member of the American Enterprise Institute's board of trustees.

16.

David Packard died on March 26,1996, at age 83 in Stanford, California, leaving approximately $4 billion to the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, including large amounts of valuable real property in Los Altos Hills.

17.

All three David Packard daughters sit on the foundation's board of trustees.