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Lockheed Martin records

 Collection
Identifier: CBI 238

Scope and Content

This collection consists of administrative business records for the company Lockheed Martin and its predecessor and subsidiary companies dating back to the 1940s. Materials include correspondence; patent files; media such as photographs, negatives, film reels, VHS tapes, floppy discs, and audio reels; publications such as research papers and semiconductor books; technical manuals and handbooks; publicity materials including brochures, newspaper clippings, and recruitment booklets; and oversized technical drawings. The materials date between 1945 and 2013.

Dates

  • undated, 1945-2013

Creator

Language of Materials

English

Use of Materials

Open for use in the Elmer L. Andersen Library reading room.

Copyright

The Charles Babbage Institute holds the copyright to all materials in the collection, except for items covered by a prior copyright (such as published materials). Researchers may quote from the collection under the fair use provisions of the copyright law (Title 17, U.S. Code)

Historical Note

Lockheed Martin is an American global security, aerospace, defense and advanced technology company headquartered in the Washington, DC area. As one of the world's largest defense contractors, the company began in 1995 with the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta. These records, however, follow another merging company that joined Lockheed Martin in 1996. In 1946 Engineering Research Associates (ERA) began as a pioneering computer firm headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota. Over the years the corporate name changed and the company was bought and merged many times -- from Engineering Research Associates to Remington Rand, to Remington Rand Univac, to Sperry Rand Univac, to Sperry Computer Systems, to Unisys Defense Systems, to Paramax Electronic Systems, to Unisys GSG, and to Loral Defense Systems, before finally becoming Lockheed Martin Tactical Defense Systems in June of 1997.

Throughout the years, the focus was on American equipment and electronics -- from electronic typewriters to office equipment to electronic digital computers for business and military. Engineering Research Associates, which started as a top-secret military contractor for the Navy, became a pioneering in the growing computer industry and established the Twin Cities as a computer powerhouse in the 1950s through the 1970s. Some project remained top secret and confidential, while others were not, and over the years despite the name changes, the Twin Cities branch continued their innovative work. In 2010 Lockheed Martin announced that it would close its facility in Eagan by the end of 2012, ultimately ending this sixty-six year legacy of Minnesota's innovation in the computer industry.

More information can be found at the VIP Club website, which represents a group of retirees and former employees of UNISYS, Lockheed Martin, and their Twin Cities heritage companies. More information at vipclubmn.org.

Extent

196 boxes (179 linear feet)

Abstract

This collection consists of the company administrative records for Lockheed Martin and its predecessor and subsidiary companies, dating from the 1940s through the 2000s.

Arrangement

This collection is divided into three series, with sub-series:

Series 1: Patent Applications

Series 2: Historical Files

-- Sub-series 1: Administrative

-- Sub-series 2: Media

Series 3: Technical Publications

-- Sub-series 1: Research Papers

-- Sub-series 2: Technical Manuals

-- Sub-series 3: Semiconductor Books

Source of acquisition

Donated in parts between 2007 and 2013 by the Eagan, Minn. branch of Lockheed Martin (LMCO), in particular the retirees VIP Club's Information Technology Legacy committee.

Related Materials

The VIP Club Information Technology Legacy committee, who organized the donation of the materials, also donated a large collection of Lockheed Martin artifacts to the Dakota County Historical Society, as the Eagan facility resided in Dakota County, Minnesota. Visit their website at www.dakotahistory.org.

Title
Lockheed Martin records, 1945-2013
Author
Finding aid created by Kate Dietrick
Date
March 2015
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English.

Collecting Area Details

Contact The Charles Babbage Institute Archives Collecting Area

Contact:
Elmer L. Andersen Library
222 - 21st Avenue South
Minneapolis MN 55455
612-624-5050