Frank Gilbreth
| Frank Bunker Gilbreth Sr. | |
|---|---|
Frank Bunker Gilbreth, Sr.
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| Born |
July 7, 1868 Fairfield, Maine |
| Died | June 14, 1924 (aged 55) Montclair, New Jersey |
| Occupation | |
| Known for | time-motion study |
| Spouse(s) | Lillian Moller Gilbreth (m. Oct. 19, 1904) |
| Children |
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Frank Bunker Gilbreth, Sr. (July 7, 1868 – June 14, 1924) was an early advocate of scientific management and a pioneer of time and motion study, and is perhaps best known as the father and central figure of Cheaper by the Dozen. Both he and his wife Lillian Moller Gilbreth were industrial engineers and efficiency experts who contributed to the study of industrial engineering in fields such as motion study and human factors.
Gilbreth was born in Fairfield, Maine on July 7, 1868. He was the third child and only son of John Hiram Gilbreth and Martha Bunker Gilbreth. His mother had been a schoolteacher. His father owned a hardware store and was a stockbreeder. When Gilbreth was three and a half years old his father died suddenly from pneumonia.
After his father's death his mother moved the family to Andover, Massachusetts to find better schools for her children. The substantial estate left by her husband was managed by her husband's family. By the fall of 1878 the money had been lost or stolen and Martha Gilbreth had to find a way to make a living. She moved the family to Boston where there were good public schools. She opened a boarding house, feeling that the salary of a schoolteacher would not support the family.
Gilbreth was not a good student. He attended Rice Grammar School, but his mother was concerned enough to teach him at home for a year. He attended Boston's English High School and his grades improved when he became interested in his science and math classes. He took the entrance examinations for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, but wanted his mother to be able to give up the boarding house. He decided to go to work rather than to college.
Renton Widden, Gilbreth's old Sunday School teacher, hired him for his building company. He was to start as a laborer, learn the various building trades, and work his way up in the firm. In July 1885 at age 17 he started as a bricklayer's helper. As he learned bricklaying he noticed the many variations in the bricklayers' methods and efficiency. This began his interest in finding "the one best way" of executing any task. He quickly learned every part of building work and contracting and advanced rapidly. He took night school classes to learn mechanical drawing. After five years he was a superintendent, which allowed his mother to give up her boarding house.
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