The Burgess Battery Company was a Wisconsin-based battery manufacturer that operated from 1917 until 1989. It was founded by

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...

professor Charles F. Burgess.

During founder's lifetime

The Burgess Battery Company (Burgess) was founded by Dr. Charles F. Burgess in Madison, Wisconsin and incorporated on March 1,1917. The United States entered World War I a month later on April 6. During the war Burgess collaborated with the

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to develop quality batteries for radio communication equipment. Radio "A" and Radio "B" batteries resulted. Charles Burgess was very experienced in the field of dry-cell batteries when he started his battery company. Following graduation from the University of Wisconsin in 1895, he taught chemistry there until 1913. In 1905 he became a Full Professor and later founded the University's Department of Chemical Engineering. In 1907 he became a consultant to the nearby French Battery Company (later renamed The Ray-O-Vac Company). He was charged with improvement of the French No. 6 battery — the large 6-inch-tall, single-cell battery used for automobile ignition, railroad signals, telephones, doorbells and other electrical devices. Burgess was put in charge of engineering at French. Within a year, Burgess started work independently, on two new battery sizes: the Number 1 size (standardized later as the "C" cell) and the Number 2 size (the future "D" cell). In 1910, Burgess formed and incorporated Northern Chemical Engineering Labs (NCEL). Using the trade name “Northern Lights,” NCEL made and sold some dry batteries to

Madison Gas and Electric Madison Gas and Electric Company (MGE) is the primary subsidiary of MGE Energy, Inc. (Nasdaq: MGEE). As a regulated utility, it primarily serves the Madison, Wisconsin metropolitan area with electricity, gas and green energy options. History Th ...

. Burgess resigned from the University of Wisconsin July 1, 1913. In 1915, NCEL became C. F. Burgess Laboratories, which became the parent firm for subsidiaries including the Burgess Battery Company at its founding. In 1916, Burgess severed all connections with the French Battery Company, and he incorporated Burgess Battery Company in 1917. After

WWI World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, and through the 1920's, the company and battery industry prospered. On December 15, 1925, in

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, Burgess purchased a large manufacturing building, which commenced battery production on July 1, 1926. Also in 1926, the University of Wisconsin awarded Charles Burgess an honorary degree of Doctor of Science. In 1931, with the Great Depression, the company was losing $1,000 a day. In 1937, a long labor strike led to a ruling against Burgess Battery Company. At the outbreak of

WWII World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Burgess Battery Company sold primarily to universities, colleges, schools, private scientific laboratories and all facets of civilian governments large and small—aided by Dr. Burgess’ background in academia and the scientific community. In 1944, Burgess received an honorary doctor's degree in engineering from the

Illinois Institute of Technology Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Tracing its history to 1890, the present name was adopted upon the merger of the Armour Institute and Lewis Institute in 1940. The university has prog ...

. During WWII, when employment in a Burgess plant had reached 1,000, Burgess died unexpectedly of a heart attack on February 13, 1945 in a Chicago hospital.

After founder's death

Burgess was acquired in December 1958 by Servel, Inc. (a maker of refrigerators and refrigeration equipment) and became the Burgess Battery Division of Servel. In 1967 Servel was merged into Clevite Corporation (a major maker of internal combustion engine bearings). In 1969 Clevite was merged into Gould-National Batteries, Inc. and Burgess was renamed Burgess Battery-Gould, Inc., a dba of Gould-National Batteries. In 1974 the Burgess operation was acquired by Charles Pindyck, Inc. an infants-wear maker in New Jersey. The name of the Burgess operation then became Burgess, Inc. In 1985, with Burgess behind in payables and employment down to 100 workers. At this point Charles Pindyck, Inc. sold Burgess, Inc. to Robert F. Schnoes, an experienced, industrial turn-around executive.The Capital Times (Madison, Wisconsin) May 14 1985 pg 8 The company's plant was shuttered in 1989.Chicago Tribune November 5 1989 pg 155

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burgess Battery Company American companies established in 1917 American companies disestablished in 1989 Battery manufacturers History of Madison, Wisconsin