Inventor of the first automated teller machine (ATM)
Luther George Simjian was an Armenian-American inventor and entrepreneur. A prolific and professional inventor, he held over 200 patents, mostly related to optics and electronics. His most significant inventions were a pioneering flight simulator, arguably the first ATM and improvement to the teleprompter.
Early life
Simjian was born in Aintab, Ottoman Empire to Armenian parents on January 28, 1905. Simjian lived in Aintab until the age of nine. In 1915, during the Armenian genocide, the Simjian family fled to Aleppo, Syria, only to return to Aintab in 1920. His stepmother and half-sisters were killed in Marash. Simjian fled to Beirut, then to France and eventually to the United States by the end of 1920. He first settled in New Haven, Connecticut, living with an uncle. He found a job coloring photographs. He graduated from the Booth Preparatory School in New Haven.
Yale and early inventions
Simjian began working as a technician at the Yale School of Medicine in a work-study position at the photography lab. While initially having been inclined to pursue medical education, he eventually decided to pursue photography. In 1928 Simjian founded and became the first director of the photography department at the Yale School of Medicine, which he headed until 1934. After resigning from Yale, he moved to New York City and took courses at Columbia University « that he felt would be useful in the promotion of his inventions, focusing on business education, writing, and international banking. »
Self-photographing and self-focusing camera
Simjian’s interest in portrait photography led to him inventing a self-photographing camera (PhotoReflex). He was inspired to invent it from his unhappiness with the repetitive nature of yearbook portraits. In 1929 he applied for patent for the « Pose-reflecting system for photographic apparatus. » It was covered early on by the Popular Science magazine in 1929. It allowed the « subject to look into a mirror and see the framed pose the camera would take. » To manufacture the new product, Simjian collaborated with Sperry Gyroscope to set up PhotoReflex, a company named after the camera itself. In 1931 the camera was introduced at the Wanamaker’s department store in New York City contained within a portrait cabinet. Within the booth, people could see the « reflexive production of images of the self in real time. » It was widely covered in the press at the time.
The self-photographing camera led to the invention of the autofocus (self-focusing) camera by Simjian. He applied for patent in June 1931 and was granted one for the « Self-focusing camera » in July 1932. It « changed the whole photography industry, » but he did not « receive much money for his autofocusing invention, but he did get publicity. He eventually sold the rights to the PhotoReflex camera and name but reserved the rights to use the technology for non-photographic applications. »
Color X-ray
In June 1934 he was granted a patent for a color X-ray machine. He had applied for it in March 1932. He had « conceived the idea at Yale while trying to improve the quality of lecture slides. He decided to apply the new technology of television to X-ray images. Scanning was done in three separate colors, each of which could be enhanced as necessary, and the three scans could then be recombined to form a colored image. The separate scans could also be sent through a wire to another location for analysis. This transformed the field of X-ray technology. » This was reported by Time Magazine and The Literary Digest in July 1934.
Simjian thereafter traveled to Europe and established a laboratory in London and Miroflex, a company to produce the PhotoReflex camera. However, his plans were disrupted by World War II as the focus of production shifted from commercial to military.
Reflectone and flight simulator
In 1939 Simjian founded Reflectone Corporation (later renamed to Reflectone Electronics, Inc.) in Stamford, Connecticut, to develop and manufacture his inventions. He served as president and chairman of Reflectone until he sold the company to Universal Match Corporation in 1961. Under his leadership, the company achieved « significant commercial success. »
Later inventions
After Reflectone, Simjian founded General Research Inc. and Command Automation Inc., the latter was a research and development lab in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. His later inventions were increasingly diverse and eclectic. Between 1956 and 1963, he received some 75 patents, making it his most prolific period.
Teleprompter
Simjian held a patent on the teleprompter. However, he is not its sole inventor. Its invention is usually credited to Hubert Schlafly, an engineer working with CBS and Fred Barton, an actor, who developed a mechanical cueing device in the 1950s. Simjian and Jess Oppenheimer improved it and replaced it with an optical teleprompter. The prompting device was applied for patent in 1955 and it was granted in 1957.
Bankograph (ATM)
Simjian invented what has been described as a precursor of the automated teller machine (ATM). For this, Simjian is often considered the inventor of the ATM or that he first introduced the concept. The entry on Simjian in the American National Biography noted that he is « sometimes referred to as the ‘father of the ATM’ because he introduced the idea behind these now-ubiquitous machines. »
Simjian was granted over 20 patents for the Bankograph. His « Apparatus for collecting an article for deposit » (filed in 1958) was granted in late March 1960. Simjian filed for a patent for « Subscriber controlled apparatus » in 1959. In 1960 Simjian filed for patent a device that incorporated an ATM photographing the deposited check.
Described as « less than a full-function ATM, » the Bankograph was an automatic deposit machine that accepted cash and check deposits at all times. A camera inside the machine took snapshots of the deposits, copies of which were given to the customers as receipts. He introduced it to the wider public in 1961, when it was placed in a few City Bank of New York bank lobbies for six months. The company discontinued its use due to limited appeal. Simjian wrote in his autobiography: « It seems the only people who were using the machines were a small number of prostitutes and gamblers who didn’t want to deal with tellers face to face. And the bank said there were not enough of them to make the deal lucrative. »
Other
Simjian’s other inventions included an indoor computerized golf practice range (1960s), an exercise bicycle that massages the rider (1973), a golf training aid to improve putting (1981), a remotely accessed automatic postage meter (1981) that was purchased by Pitney Bowes, a meat tenderizing method, golf balls, cooking devices, the use of ultrasound as an anticounterfeiting device, an athletic shoe, and a bandage. He also revisited and improved some of his earlier inventions. His eyesight declined significantly in his last years. However, he still made inventions with his last patent being granted several months before his death, in March 1997.
Legacy and recognition
Simjian avoided publicity and never became a public figure. He was « so private few people would recognize his name, » wrote Ardy Friedberg in the Sun-Sentinel in 1997. Simjian self-published Portions of an Autobiography in 1997 just before his death. During his seven-decade long career as a professional inventor, Simjian received over 200 American and foreign patents. After his death, he was compared to Thomas Edison.
Awards
- The Award of Appreciation from the State of Florida, 1961
- In June 1963 the Science Digest magazine named Simjian Inventor of the Month.
- In 1978 Simjian received the Eli Whitney Award by the Connecticut Patent Law Association (currently the Connecticut Intellectual Property Law Association, CIPLA) « in recognition of significant contribution to law or science. »
- In 2019 Simjian was inducted into the Florida Inventors Hall of Fame. His « numerous inventions […] have advanced technology throughout Florida theme parks. » For that occasion, he was named by Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) on House floor on July 24, 2019.
