James Goodfellow
OBE,
KCHS,
FIIE (born 1937) is a
Scottish inventor. In 1966, he
patent
A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A ...
ed
personal identification number (PIN) technology and an
automated teller machine
An automated teller machine (ATM) or cash machine (in British English) is an electronic telecommunications device that enables customers of financial institutions to perform financial transactions, such as cash withdrawals, deposits, fun ...
(ATM). He is generally considered the inventor of the modern ATM.
Goodfellow was born in
Paisley, Renfrewshire,
[ where he later attended St Mirin's Academy. As a 28-year-old development engineer at ]Kelvin Hughes
Hensoldt UK, formerly Kelvin Hughes, is a British company specialising in the design and manufacture of navigation and surveillance systems and a supplier of navigational data to both the commercial marine and government marketplace.
The company ...
, he was given the project of developing an automatic cash dispenser in 1965. His system accepted a machine readable encrypted card, with a numerical PIN keypad.[ The invention received UK Patent No. 1,197,183 with a priority date of 2 May 1966.][ In 1967, the world's first ATM was in ]Enfield
Enfield may refer to:
Places Australia
* Enfield, New South Wales
* Enfield, South Australia
** Electoral district of Enfield, a state electoral district in South Australia, corresponding to the suburb
** Enfield High School (South Australia)
...
in North London
North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshire.
The term ''nor ...
, which used a rival design by John Shepherd-Barron
John Adrian Shepherd-Barron OBE (23 June 1925 – 15 May 2010) was an India-born British inventor, who led the team that installed the first cash machine, sometimes referred to as the automated teller machine or ATM.
Early life
John Adrian Shep ...
of De La Rue that accepted cheques impregnated with a radioactive chemical.[ De La Rue did not patent the design.][
In 2005, Shepherd-Barron was widely reported as the inventor of the cash dispenser after he received an OBE.][ This compelled Goodfellow to publicize his patent.][ " hepherd-Barroninvented a radioactive device to withdraw money. I invented an automated system with an encrypted card and a pin number, and that's the one that is used around the world today," he said.][ Despite being appointed an OBE in the 2006 Queen's Birthday Honours for his invention of the personal identification number,] Goodfellow has publicly commented on the lack of recognition and compensation for his inventiveness, since PIN codes are ubiquitous today.
Goodfellow, a Fellow of the Institution of Electrical Engineers
The Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE) was a British professional organisation of electronics, electrical, manufacturing, and Information Technology professionals, especially electrical engineers. It began in 1871 as the Society of T ...
, was inducted into the Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame
The Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame honours "those engineers from, or closely associated with, Scotland who have achieved, or deserve to achieve, greatness", as selected by an independent panel representing Scottish engineering institutions, aca ...
in 2016.[ In 2011, BBC Radio Scotland broadcast Goodfellow's oral account of the history of his invention, rebroadcast in 2022.]
See also
* Scottish inventions and discoveries
References
External links
James Goodfellow
entry at the Gazetteer for Scotland
"Who invented the ATM machine? - The James Goodfellow Story"
at atmmachine.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goodfellow, James
1937 births
Living people
Scottish inventors
Scottish electrical engineers
Engineers from Paisley, Renfrewshire
Knights of the Holy Sepulchre
Officers of the Order of the British Empire
People from Paisley, Renfrewshire
People educated at St Mirin's Academy
Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame inductees
Scottish Roman Catholics