Herbert J. Winn

Herbert J. Winn

Longtime President & Board Chairman

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Executive Leadership

Archival portrait pending verification

Joined Firm:	1893 (Salesman)
Treasurer:	1907 – 1938
Presidency:	1913 – 1938 (25 Years)
Preceded By:	J. Merton Taylor
Succeeded By:	Lewis B. Swift
Later Role:	Chairman of the Board

Herbert J. Winn was an American industrial executive who served as President of the Taylor Instrument Companies for a quarter century from 1913 to 1938.

Rising through the ranks from an upstate traveling salesman to establishing the firm's European presence in London, Winn went on to guide the company through its vital manufacturing contributions in World War I, major capital expansion during the 1920s, and the corporate founding of Taylor Instrument Companies of Canada, Ltd.

Early Career & London Expansion (1893–1906)

Winn joined the Taylor Brothers Company in 1893 during the administration of Frank Taylor. His initial position was as a traveling salesman representing the company's expanding thermometer lines throughout Canada.

Recognized early for his administrative energy and commercial acumen:

• In 1898, Winn was sent to England to establish and organize the company's first overseas branch office at 106 Hatton Garden in London.
• His work in Britain laid the groundwork for closer commercial ties with British meteorological makers and set the stage for Taylor's major acquisition of Short & Mason Co., Ltd. in 1900.

Executive Leadership & Presidency (1907–1938)

Upon returning to the central headquarters in Rochester, New York, Winn stepped into executive finance:

• Treasurer (1907): Winn was elected Treasurer of the consolidated Taylor Instrument Companies, supervising capitalization during the opening of the landmark Ames Street main plant.
• Elected President (1913): Following the sudden death of company president J. Merton Taylor in July 1913, Winn was elected President and Treasurer, uniting chief operational and financial direction under his leadership.

Wartime Leadership & International Scale

Under Winn's twenty-five-year presidency, the company grew into an international precision instrument power:

• World War I Mobilization: Taylor developed crucial military supply contracts for the United States government, scaling its manufacturing workforce from 600 to more than 1,270 workers to produce aeronautical altimeters and military munitions gauges.
• Laboratory & Research Foundation: Prior to 1920, Winn authorized the founding of the dedicated Chemical Laboratory, Physical Laboratory, and the Sales Engineering Department in Rochester, followed by the establishment of the on-site Tycos Company Library in 1922.
• National & Global Branch Network: Winn oversaw the establishment of major divisional branch offices in Toronto and St. Louis (1914), Baltimore (1915), Washington state and Washington, D.C. (1917), and later San Francisco, Los Angeles, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Tulsa, and Seattle.
• Capital Growth: In 1929, the capital stock of the company doubled under his guidance from $2.5 million to $5.0 million.
• Canadian Incorporation (1930): He led the formal incorporation of Taylor Instrument Companies of Canada, Ltd., maintaining whole corporate ownership under the Rochester parent firm.

Chairman of the Board & Later Years

In 1938, after a historic 25-year tenure as President, Winn retired from active daily executive leadership and was succeeded in the presidency by Lewis B. Swift.

Winn subsequently transitioned into the role of Chairman of the Board of Directors, a high-level oversight office established by the company's stockholders, where he continued to advise corporate strategy during the mobilization period leading into World War II.

Archival Primary Sources

Primary Archival Repository

Herbert J. Winn's executive correspondence, board minutes, and overseas branch records are preserved in the Taylor Instrument Company Papers (Collection D.75) at the University of Rochester Department of Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation:

• Series I: General History — Documentation of the 1898 London branch on Hatton Garden, 1913 presidential succession, and corporate board minutes.
• Series II: War Efforts — World War I federal aircraft and munitions contracts administered under his presidency.
• Series III: Business Papers — Sales records, Canadian incorporation files, and the 1929 stock expansion files.

University of Rochester Collection Record & Finding Aid (D.75)