Otis Boykin

Electronic Resistors

U.S. Patent No. 2,891,227

Inducted in the National Inventors Hall of Fame 2014

Born Aug. 29, 1920 – Died March 1, 1982

American inventor and engineer. His inventions include electrical resistors used in computing, missile guidance, and pacemakers.

Otis Boykin’s work on improved electrical resistors made possible the steady workings of a wide variety of electrical devices. Variations of his resistor technologies are used in televisions, radios, computers, pacemakers, and guided missiles.

In 1959, Boykin invented his wire precision resistor and two years later invented an improved version that could withstand extreme changes in temperature and pressure. It was cheaper and more reliable than previous types and was in demand by the U.S. military, IBM, and other high-tech organizations. In 1964, he developed a control unit for pacemakers making possible their precise regulation. The advances made by Boykin meant many electronic devices could be made cheaper and more reliable than previously possible. His resistors were quickly incorporated into many products ranging from common household goods to complex military technology that is still used throughout the world today.

Boykin’s achievements led him to work as a consultant in the United States and in Paris from 1964 to 1982. Meanwhile, he continued working on resistors until the end of his life. He created an electrical capacitor in 1965 and an electrical resistance capacitor in 1967, as well as a number of electrical resistance elements. He is also known to have created a range of consumer innovations including a burglar-proof cash register and a chemical air filter.

Boykin’s cermet resistor allowed for a pacemaker patient’s pulse rate to be adjusted without the need for surgery. Image available on the Internet and included in accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107.

x-ray of a pacemaker in the chest cavity.Chest_xray_pacemaker_(CardioNetworks_ECGpedia)

He was a member of the International Society for Hybrid Microelectronics and the Physics Club of Chicago

Otis Boykin died in Chicago in 1982 of heart failure. He was survived by his wife, Pearlie Mae Kimble, whom he married in the 1940s. They had no children. He held at least 25 patents at the time of his death.