Otis Frank Boykin (August 29, 1920 – March 26, 1982) was an American inventor and engineer. His inventions include electrical resistors used in computers, missile guidance systems, and pacemakers.

Early life

Otis Boykin was born on August 29, 1920, in Dallas, Texas. His father, Walter B. Boykin, was a carpenter who later became a preacher. His mother, Sarah, was a maid who died from heart failure when Otis was one year old. This event motivated him to work on improving the pacemaker.

Education

Boykin went to Booker T. Washington High School in Dallas, where he was the top student and graduated in 1938. He then attended Fisk University with a scholarship. While there, he worked as a laboratory assistant at the university's nearby space and flight research lab. He left Fisk University in 1941.

Career

After graduating, Boykin moved to Chicago and found work as a clerk at Electro Manufacturing Company. He was later hired as a laboratory assistant at Majestic Radio and Television Corporation. At that company, he became the foreman of their factory. By 1944, he was working for P.J. Nilsen Research Labs.

In 1946–1947, he studied at Illinois Institute of Technology but left after two years. Some sources say he left because he could not afford tuition, but he later said he left for a job opportunity and did not return to finish his degree. One of his mentors was Dr. Denton Deere, an engineer and inventor who had his own laboratory. Another mentor was Dr. Hal F. Fruth, with whom he worked on experiments, including a better way to test airplane controls. The two men later started a business, opening an electronics research lab in the late 1940s.

In the 1950s, Boykin and Fruth worked together at Monson Manufacturing Corporation, where Boykin was the chief engineer. In the early 1960s, he was a senior project engineer at Chicago Telephone Supply Corporation, later called CTS Labs. At this company, he conducted much of his research on pacemakers. However, he later sued CTS for $5 million, claiming his former employer had taken credit for a device he developed.

After the lawsuit was dismissed and his time at CTS ended, Boykin started his own consulting and research company. He had offices in the United States and Paris, France.

Legacy

Boykin received patents for up to 26 different devices. He is most well-known for creating several types of electronic control devices used in guided missiles, IBM computers, and pacemakers. One of his early inventions was an improved wire resistor. This resistor had less electrical interference because of how the wire was shaped.

Other important inventions include a variable resistor used in guided missiles. His most famous invention was probably a control unit for the artificial cardiac pacemaker. This device sends electrical signals to help keep the heart beating regularly. Among his other inventions was a cash register that could not be easily stolen from.