David Packard

American 6' 5" tall entrepreneur, government official and philanthropist. Packard became a leader in business management and electronic and computer technology in the Silicon Valley of California. With his partner from Stanford University, William Hewlett, they founded Hewlett-Packard with $538.00 in a Palo Alto garage in 1939. The company became a leader in the electronic instruments and test equipment after WW II. In the early 1970s, Hewlett-Packard introduced the popular electronic calculator. As the CEO since 1964, Packard conducted the day-to day business affairs of the company and maintained a top position as a computer business supplier. He wrote his autobiography in 1995, "The HP Way: How Bill Hewlett and I Built Our Company." In 1995, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation had a net asset of $ 2.3 billion. In the same year $116 million was distributed to more than 700 recipients such as the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Stanford University, and the Palo Alto Children's Hospital.

Packard's mother was a high school teacher and his father was a lawyer. In grade school, he dreamed of becoming an engineer. His father was disappointed that his young son did not want to follow his path into law. At Stanford University, Packard studied electrical engineering and befriended fellow classmate William Hewlett during their freshman year. After graduation in 1936, Packard went to work for General Electric for two years. His mentor, Professor Fred Terman awarded Packard a fellowship for graduate work at Stanford and Hewlett returned to the campus. Terman encouraged the two men to open their own business. In the garage of a modest two-story house that Packard and his wife rented in 1939, Hewlett and Packard created their first product, an audio oscillator. One of their first customers to purchase the audio oscillator was Walt Disney Studios. They used the device in making the film, "Fantasia." By the end of 1939, Hewlett-Packard made a $1,539 profit on sales.