Frederick Winslow Taylor, Stevens Class of 1883: The Father of Scientific Management

Frederick Winslow Taylor, Stevens Class of 1883, was the inventor and engineer who pioneered the application of engineering principles and time study to production and shop management. The field he created, scientific management, is still refined and used in industry today. Following his graduation from Stevens, Taylor became chief engineer at the Midvale steel company in his hometown of Philadelphia. Later he joined industrial firms such as Manufacturing Investment Company, a pulp and paper producer, as general manager at the mighty Bethlehem Steel Corporation, where he developed new steel processes.

Taylor would receive more than 40 patents during his lifetime, but was far and away best known for his book laying out “The Principles of Scientific Management.” He was more than a one-dimensional scientist, however: paired with financier Clarence Clark, Taylor won the inaugural U.S. Lawn Tennis Association's doubles championship (what is now the U.S. Open tournament) in 1881, using a racket he specially designed. Then Taylor nearly did that one better, placing fourth in golf at the summer Olympic Games in Paris — narrowly missing out on adding an Olympic medal to his trophy case.