Cash register invention | Techday, November 4th
On this TECHDAY in history, on November 4th 1879, a patent was issued to James Ritty and his brother John, for their invention called “Ritty’s Incorruptible Cashier”, that was essentially the first cash register. This machine would put an end to employees pilfering their employer’s profits, and to completely stop employee theft and embezzlement, problems with which, James himself, as a saloon owner, was very familiar.
Ritty invented the cash register as a way to combat employee theft. His original design featured a mechanical calculator that would add up the amount of a sale and then print a receipt for the customer. The cash drawer would only open with the correct amount entered into the calculator.
The device’s inspiration came from a tool, used on steamships to count the propeller’s revolutions. Although the two brothers founded a small company (while they still operated the saloon), it wasn’t very successful, and eventually they withdrew from the cash register industry.
He sold the rights to the cash register to John Henry Patterson, who formed the National Cash Register Company (NCR) in 1884. Patterson improved upon Ritty’s design and began mass-producing cash registers. They quickly became a standard feature in businesses across the country.
Today, mechanical cash registers have largely replaced the electronic cash registers. The basic design and function of these devices can still be traced back to James Ritty’s original invention.
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Author: PC-GR
The World of Technology
