Fisher Controls: Iowa Time Machine July 30, 1914

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On July 30, 1914, Jasper William “Bill” Fisher was born in Marshalltown. As the grandson of William Fisher, inventor of the constant-pressure pump governor and founder of what would become Fisher Controls, Bill was steeped in the values of innovation and engineering excellence that defined his family’s legacy from an early age.

His early years unfolded in the shadow of the growing Fisher Governor Company, where both industrial ingenuity and a deep commitment to community were family hallmarks. Despite strong family ties to the burgeoning valve business, Bill Fisher’s youthful passions were rooted in the arts, influenced strongly by his mother, Edna, a professional singer before marriage. He pursued studies in harmony and composition, learning both the saxophone and pipe organ in preparation for a potential music career.  However, the call of duty and tradition proved strong. Fisher decided to enroll in engineering at Iowa State College (now Iowa State University), where he met fellow student Dorothy Meyer. This decision not only set him on a professional path within the family business but also led to a partnership with Dorothy, a significant supporter of the arts, whom he married in 1941.

Bill Fisher’s life took a dramatic turn in 1940, when his father and older brother were both killed in a car accident. At just 28, he was thrust into company leadership, first working in the finance department and, after his mother’s retirement in 1954, assuming the presidency of the firm. Under his stewardship, the Fisher Governor Company would expand far beyond its Iowa roots, rapidly evolving in tandem with 20th-century advancements in process control and industrial automation. Bill Fisher guided the company from $2 million in annual revenue in 1954 to $100 million by the late 1960s.

The company’s product innovations, including the refinement of its original constant-pressure pump governor and the development of complex control valves and regulators, became standard tools in chemical plants, power stations, and refineries worldwide. In 1969, recognizing new opportunities for continued expansion, Fisher negotiated the sale of the company to Monsanto, at which point the Fisher Governor Company became known as Fisher Controls. #IowaOTD #IowaHistoryDaily #IowaHistoryCalendar