four.cycle
Well-known member
Gilfillan / Gilfillan Bros. Inc., 1815 West 16th Street, Los Angeles, CA / automotive ignition hand tools (magneto wrench) / http://www.radiomuseum.org/dsp_hersteller_detail.cfm?company_id=2488 / http://antiqueradios.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=164411 / https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITT-Gilfillan / http://vintagemachinery.org/mfgIndex/detail.aspx?id=11769&tab=6 /
not to be confused with:
Gilfillan / Gilfillan Scale & Hardware Co., Chicago, IL / patent 594202 / combination hammer and tack puller / scales / http://www.lbs-or-ozs.com/gilfillan-postal-scales-1 / https://www.garagejournal.com/forum...-hardware-co-chicago-il-patent-594202.489614/ /
they were completely separate entities with no relation to each other.
Gilfillan Bros. of Los Angeles California was founded in 1912 by Sennet W. Gilfillan and his younger brother Jay G. Gilfillan.
Sennet W. Gilfillan, President (b. Nov 25 1889 Leavenworth KS)[8] son of William and Cora (Sennet) Gilfillan (d. Mar 5 1961 Glendale, CA)
His younger brother Jay G. Gilfillan (b. 1892)(d. Jul 18 1973) (married Ina Gubler 1918) was working as his foreign manager in South America when the company first started.
Sennet W. Gilfillan, right after graduating from Stanford in 1912, purchased the assets of his uncle's smelting and refining company. His younger brother Jay joined him and together they founded the Gilfillan Brothers Smelting and Refining Company in 1914, originally located at 161 No. Spring St. in Los Angeles.
In 1916 the Gilfillan brothers built a new plant at Eleventh and Wall and had 125 employees working three shifts 24 hours a day, manufacturing platinum contact points and other ignition parts for automobiles; bakelite components for radios, telephones, and automobiles; portable electric power tools; refrigerators; and aircraft parts for the Curtis aircraft. They also began manufacturing tools designed to work on the magnetos and distributors of automobiles.
During 1916 they also opened up branch offices in New York and Kansas City.
On June 10, 1917 the company was incorporated, with S.W. Gilfillan as President, younger brother Jay G. Gilfillan Vice-President, and Miss A.W. Kluseman Secretary and Treasurer.
On February 20, 1918 Sennet W. Gilfillan married Miss Edna Miles in Los Angeles, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Miles. of Westmoreland Place.
Working as licensees for the General Bakelite Company of New York, they were (according to Mr. Gilfillan) "pushed" into the business of manufacturing radio parts, as the then-new Bakelite was the only material available at the time suitable for that purpose.
By 1923, they had no fewer than 40 Bakelite presses in operation 24 hours a day.
In the late 1920s and early 1930s, they began working with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and helped to develop the first ground-control aircraft radar landing systems.
During the late 1930s Gilfillan was working on and developing television sets. In 1937, the cabinet for one of Harry R. Lubcke's early receivers was supplied by Gilfillan.
In 1942, Gilfillan was chosen to develop the first "GCA" (Ground Control Approach) radar systems.
By 1946, Gilfillan was developing a more simplified system known as "RLS" (Radar Landing System).
In January 1964 Gilfillan Bros. Inc. became a wholly owned subsidiary of ITT (International Telephone and Telegraph Company)
The Gilfillan company became the radar division of ITT.
S.W. Gilfillan was to a significant degree a supporter of his Alma Mater, Stanford University, making contributions to scholarships for electrical engineering students at Stanford.
notes and sources:
[1] Los Angeles Times Oct 23 1925 pp 105
[2] New York Times Jul 21 1973 pp 30
[3] https://www.radiomuseum.org/dsp_hersteller_detail.cfm?company_id=2488
[4] Los Angeles from the Mountains to the Sea - With Selected Biography of Actors and Witnesses to the Period of Growth and Achievement, Volume 2 pp 163-164 - 1921 John Steven McGroarty
[5] Popular Mechanics December 1929
[6] Radio Manufacturers of the 1920s - Volume 2 pp 13 - 1994 Alan Douglas
[7] Popular Mechanics June 1946 pp 81-85
[8] https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/85408167/sennet-w-gilfillan - claims DOB Dec 20 1889
[9] Los Angeles Times Jul 21 1973 pp 50
not to be confused with:
Gilfillan / Gilfillan Scale & Hardware Co., Chicago, IL / patent 594202 / combination hammer and tack puller / scales / http://www.lbs-or-ozs.com/gilfillan-postal-scales-1 / https://www.garagejournal.com/forum...-hardware-co-chicago-il-patent-594202.489614/ /
they were completely separate entities with no relation to each other.
Gilfillan Bros. of Los Angeles California was founded in 1912 by Sennet W. Gilfillan and his younger brother Jay G. Gilfillan.
Sennet W. Gilfillan, President (b. Nov 25 1889 Leavenworth KS)[8] son of William and Cora (Sennet) Gilfillan (d. Mar 5 1961 Glendale, CA)
His younger brother Jay G. Gilfillan (b. 1892)(d. Jul 18 1973) (married Ina Gubler 1918) was working as his foreign manager in South America when the company first started.
Sennet W. Gilfillan, right after graduating from Stanford in 1912, purchased the assets of his uncle's smelting and refining company. His younger brother Jay joined him and together they founded the Gilfillan Brothers Smelting and Refining Company in 1914, originally located at 161 No. Spring St. in Los Angeles.
In 1916 the Gilfillan brothers built a new plant at Eleventh and Wall and had 125 employees working three shifts 24 hours a day, manufacturing platinum contact points and other ignition parts for automobiles; bakelite components for radios, telephones, and automobiles; portable electric power tools; refrigerators; and aircraft parts for the Curtis aircraft. They also began manufacturing tools designed to work on the magnetos and distributors of automobiles.
During 1916 they also opened up branch offices in New York and Kansas City.
On June 10, 1917 the company was incorporated, with S.W. Gilfillan as President, younger brother Jay G. Gilfillan Vice-President, and Miss A.W. Kluseman Secretary and Treasurer.
On February 20, 1918 Sennet W. Gilfillan married Miss Edna Miles in Los Angeles, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Miles. of Westmoreland Place.
Working as licensees for the General Bakelite Company of New York, they were (according to Mr. Gilfillan) "pushed" into the business of manufacturing radio parts, as the then-new Bakelite was the only material available at the time suitable for that purpose.
By 1923, they had no fewer than 40 Bakelite presses in operation 24 hours a day.
In the late 1920s and early 1930s, they began working with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and helped to develop the first ground-control aircraft radar landing systems.
During the late 1930s Gilfillan was working on and developing television sets. In 1937, the cabinet for one of Harry R. Lubcke's early receivers was supplied by Gilfillan.
In 1942, Gilfillan was chosen to develop the first "GCA" (Ground Control Approach) radar systems.
By 1946, Gilfillan was developing a more simplified system known as "RLS" (Radar Landing System).
In January 1964 Gilfillan Bros. Inc. became a wholly owned subsidiary of ITT (International Telephone and Telegraph Company)
The Gilfillan company became the radar division of ITT.
S.W. Gilfillan was to a significant degree a supporter of his Alma Mater, Stanford University, making contributions to scholarships for electrical engineering students at Stanford.
notes and sources:
[1] Los Angeles Times Oct 23 1925 pp 105
[2] New York Times Jul 21 1973 pp 30
[3] https://www.radiomuseum.org/dsp_hersteller_detail.cfm?company_id=2488
[4] Los Angeles from the Mountains to the Sea - With Selected Biography of Actors and Witnesses to the Period of Growth and Achievement, Volume 2 pp 163-164 - 1921 John Steven McGroarty
[5] Popular Mechanics December 1929
[6] Radio Manufacturers of the 1920s - Volume 2 pp 13 - 1994 Alan Douglas
[7] Popular Mechanics June 1946 pp 81-85
[8] https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/85408167/sennet-w-gilfillan - claims DOB Dec 20 1889
[9] Los Angeles Times Jul 21 1973 pp 50
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