History Of Yale Locks

If you are looking for one of the best-known names and one of the oldest brands in the industry of locking, look no further than Yale. The history of Yale locks has captured some of the most notable and major innovations that are most noteworthy not just in the evolution of Yale, but also the entire industry of locking.

It is colonial America that the roots of Yale can be traced back to. Hailing originally from North Wales, the Yale family had decided to migrate from England to the New World. Some generations after having shifted their base, Linus Yale Sr. started to design and manufacture a series of high security and innovative locks inside his shop located in Newport, New York. His area of specialty was handmade, expensive bank locks.

Groundbreaking Innovation

Yale Senior’s son Linus Yale Jr. joined the family business in the year 1850, and worked to perfect and get a patent for the pin-tumbler cylinder lock that his father had created. A wonderful development in the world of locking, Linus Yale Jr. soon came to be regarded as the locking expert that his generation had. Following the success of the previous lock, Linus Yale Jr.

introduced to the world the Monitor Bank Lock in the year 1862, which was a groundbreaking shift in the type of locks the banks used. Earlier, banks were known to make use of key locks, which after this invention shifted to the use of a combination or dial locks. The principles that he had originally used in order to create his Monitor Bank Lock are foundation stones that are now used all over USA to create any standard combination lock.

Yale Jr.

Being inspired and motivated by the feats and achievements of his father, Yale Jr. had always been fascinated by the way locks worked and the way they were made. Being a worthy heir and creator of the enormous Yale locking empire that it is today, Linus Jr. always strived to make his family and more importantly, his father’s business shine and grow. A man with a scientific bend of mind, Yale Jr. always showed capabilities that were requisite of innovators and pioneers.

Being interested in locks and how they functioned, Yale Jr. had gulped down from the books of history into the inception and use of the first locks that the world had ever seen. He was experimenting on a lock that was based on an old and archaic mechanism used by the Egyptians from ancient times, dating back to almost 4,000+ years ago. Having secured important patents in the years 1861 and also the year 1865, Yale was finally able to succeed in the creation of his most hailed and important invention, known to the world as the Yale cylinder lock.

Although, the crowning achievement in all of his exploits, Linus Yale Jr. was a name to be reckoned with, in the locking industry. His breakthrough inventions and patented designs were capable of transforming the face of the locking world forever.

Expansion all over the world

With the help of the many patents that Yale Jr. had been granted, along with the ingenuity and stellar reputation that the Yale name held in the world of locking, Yale Jr. along with his colleague and friend Henry Towne successfully started in the year 1868 the Yale and Towne Company. At the time of their establishment, only 35 employees were hired by this company.

The company started to grow and gain momentum, while broadening the scope of their business with battery powered platform trucks, manually operated chain hoists and a new series of padlocks, introduced in the year 1879. As they started to grow Yale and Towne absorbed the companies of H&T Vaughan Ltd. and Norton Door Closer Company.

Early in the 20th century, Yale and Towne Company had expanded all over the world, with more than 12,000 employees working for them. A number of joint ventures, acquisitions, and purchases over the 20th century have resulted in Yale Locks becoming a world-famous name that is revered and trusted in the locking industry, all over the world.

ASSA ABLOY Group purchased Yale in the August of 2000, and from that time they have been a global leader and an important name in companies offering door opening solutions.

Some of the patents that Linus Yale Jr. had been granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

• Pat. #3,312 combination lock – Springfield, MA (with C. Wilson)- 20 Oct 1843
• Pat. #3,630 pin tumbler safe lock – Springfield, MA- 13 June 1844
• Pat. #6,111 safe – Newport, NY- 13 Feb. 1849
• Pat. #10,144 a bank lock – Newport, NY- 18 Oct. 1853
• Pat. #10,584 a bank lock – Newport, NY- 28 Feb. 1854
• Pat. #12,932 a bank lock – Newport, NY- 22 May 1855
• Pat. #15,500 vault and safe door bolt – Newport, NY- 5 Aug 1856
• Pat. #18,169 padlock – Newport, NY- 8 Sept. 1857

The History Of Yale Infographic Time Line

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