Historical Timeline
Historical Timelines
Tracing the corporate identity and executive leadership of the Taylor instrument legacy across seventeen decades of manufacturing, scientific innovation, and global expansion.
Evolution of the Company Name
Tracing legal business names & corporate entities from 1851 to Present
Kendall & Taylor
1851 – 1853
Founded in Rochester by David Kendall and George Taylor with an initial investment of $919. Produced tin-case thermometers and mercurial barometers. Partnership ended with Kendall’s departure in 1853.
George Taylor (Sole Ownership)
1853 – 1859
Operated as an independent business by George Taylor following Kendall's departure. Taylor peddled thermometers to rural general stores and expanded production, eventually moving the workshop to 11 Hill Street.
Taylor & Richardson
1866 – 1872
Formed in 1866 by George’s brother, Frank Taylor (who had arrived in Rochester in 1862), and Hamlet Richardson. Richardson eventually withdrew due to failing health and sold his ownership interest back to George Taylor, paving the way for brotherly partnership.
Taylor Brothers
1872 – 1890
With Richardson’s departure, George Taylor and Frank Taylor formally established Taylor Brothers. Period of rapid expansion in dairy, clinical, and industrial thermometers, introducing patented etched-stem glass designs.
Taylor Brothers Company
1890 – 1907
Formally incorporated in New York State. Began strategic acquisitions of key competitors (including Hohmann & Maurer and Short & Mason of London), laying the groundwork for heavy industrial process instrumentation.
Taylor Instrument Companies
1907 – 1968
The Definitive Era. Construction and major expansions at 95 Ames Street. Unified consumer and industrial lines under the iconic Tycos trademark, supplied vital aviation and naval instruments during WWI and WWII (awarded the Army-Navy “E” in 1942), and celebrated the Centennial in 1951.
Taylor Instrument Company (Sybron)
1968 – 1989
Merged into the Sybron Corporation as its premier instrument and control systems subsidiary. Transitioned from analog pneumatic controls to electronic and early microprocessor process automation (MOD systems).
Taylor Instruments Division
1989 – 1990
Acquired by Combustion Engineering (C-E) during corporate consolidation in the energy and industrial systems sector, operating as a specialized process automation division.
ABB Kent-Taylor Inc.
1990 – 1996
Global engineering giant Asea Brown Boveri (ABB) acquired Combustion Engineering. Combined Taylor’s Rochester product line with Britain’s George Kent group to form ABB Kent-Taylor.
ABB Instrumentation Inc.
1996 – Present
Fully integrated into ABB’s Measurement & Analytics division. While manufacturing eventually transitioned away from Ames Street, the Taylor instrument designs, patents, and engineering legacy remain active across global industrial facilities today.
Company Presidents
The executive administrations that built and directed the company
George Taylor
1851 – 1889
Cofounded Kendall & Taylor in 1851 above Post's Drug Store and managed the Hill Street shop as sole owner before stepping back in 1859. Returned to the business in 1870 by purchasing Hamlet Richardson's interest, uniting with brother Frank to formally establish Taylor Brothers in 1872 and serving as president until his death in 1889.
Frank Taylor
1889 – 1900 (11 Years)
Incorporated the business in 1890 with $75,000 capital stock. Orchestrated the acquisitions of the Watertown Thermometer Co. (1891), Hohmann & Maurer (1895), established the London branch (1898), and acquired Short & Mason (1900). Served on the Board of Directors until 1920.
G. Elbert Taylor
1900 – 1910 (10 Years)
Son of George Taylor. Oversaw capital expansion to $535,000, formal incorporation as the Taylor Instrument Companies, acquisition of Davis & Roesch (1905), and the construction and opening of the main plant on Ames Street (1906).
J. Merton Taylor
1910 – 1913 (3 Years)
Son of George Taylor. Consolidated the Watertown plant operations into Ames Street in 1911. Pioneered industrial employee welfare by building Taylor's own emergency hospital, created the formal Research Department, and opened the Export Sales Department. Passed away in office in July 1913.
Herbert J. Winn
1913 – 1938 (25 Years)
Joined the company as a salesman in 1893 and organized the London office in 1898. Guided the company through massive World War I production, expanded stock to $5M in 1929, incorporated Taylor Instrument Companies of Canada in 1930, and founded the Tycos Library (1922). Later served as Chairman of the Board.
Lewis B. Swift
1938 – 1951+
Succeeded Herbert J. Winn in 1938. Directed Taylor's critical wartime operations as prime contractor for instrumentation at the Oak Ridge Manhattan Project facility, earning three Army-Navy “E” Awards. Presided over the company's 100-year centennial celebration in 1951.
Lewis B. Swift
1938 – 1951 (13 Years)
Succeeded Herbert J. Winn in 1938. Directed Taylor's critical wartime operations as prime contractor for instrumentation at the Oak Ridge Manhattan Project facility, earning three Army-Navy “E” Awards. Presided over the company's 1951 Centennial before transitioning to Chairman of the Board.
Raymond E. Olson
1951 – 1965 (14 Years)
RIT engineering graduate (1916) who rose through sales and executive management. Led post-war expansion into modern industrial automation, directed nationwide plant modernization, and served as a Class B Director of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York before becoming Chairman of the Board in 1965.
Marc E. Porter
1965 – 1968+
Former Vice President and General Manager who championed the transition to electronic process control and international expansion. Guided the historic 1968 merger with Ritter Pfaudler Corporation to establish the Sybron Corporation, positioning Taylor as its primary industrial instrument division.
The legal records, presidential transitions, corporate charters, and meeting minutes compiled in both timelines are preserved in the Taylor Instrument Company Papers (Collection D.75) at the University of Rochester Department of Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation.
