Walter Reinhold Schlage (1882–1946) was a German-born American engineer and inventor. Known as the ''Lock Wizard of Thuringia'', he is best known for the bored cylindrical lock and the lock company that bears his name, Schlage Lock Co.

Early training and travels

Early on in his life, his father recognized his aptitude for mechanics and academics and worked on his behalf to have his son admitted to the Carl Zeiss Optical Works in

Jena Jena () is a German city and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 inhabitants, while the city itself has a po ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. During his apprenticeship, Schlage learned drafting, applied mechanics and engineering. After four years, he graduated with a special award of merit, as a result of his applied scholarship. Walter developed a sense of adventure whetted by guests that stayed in his father's hotel, in

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and larg ...

. Following his training he left Germany for London where he worked as an instrument maker for Hileger, Ltd. Lasting a year in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, he emigrated to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

where he gained employment with the

Western Electric Company The Western Electric Company was an American electrical engineering and manufacturing company officially founded in 1869. A wholly owned subsidiary of American Telephone & Telegraph for most of its lifespan, it served as the primary equipment m ...

. With a continuing desire to see the world however, Schlage signed on as a ship's engineer and sailed for

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

, and

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

. Eventually, Schlage worked his way to

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

and

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, where Western Electric Company again employed him.

Inventions and business history

His first patent was in 1909, inventing a door lock that turned lights on and off. At the time, Schlage was a citizen of Germany residing in

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and Emer ...

. In 1919, Schlage patented a door knob which, when pushed up, locked the door. This was succeeded by a door knob incorporating a push-button lock, patented in 1924. By then, Schlage had moved to San Francisco. Leaving employment with Western Electric Company in 1920, Schlage opened a shop in San Francisco in the present-day financial district. The Schlage Lock Company was incorporated with a starting capital of $30. In the same year, he applied for a patent for a lock that could be drilled into a door with only two holes. This new cylindrical lock had a single plate, serving as both escutcheon and striker plate, wrapping around the door's edge. It was mostly used on interior doors, where it replaced the older

Mortise lock A mortise lock (also spelled mortice lock in British English) is a lock that requires a pocket—the mortise—to be cut into the edge of the door or piece of furniture into which the lock is to be fitted. In most parts of the world, mortise loc ...

. Schlage's new company grew quickly and into larger facilities throughout the 1920s. The company was manufacturing 20,000 locks per month in 1925. In 1927, Schlage partnered with a San Francisco businessman and financier, Charles H. Kendrick. In 1940, Schlage was awarded the Modern Pioneer award given to outstanding American inventors. Schlage died in 1946.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schlage, Walter Engineers from Thuringia 1946 deaths Businesspeople from San Francisco 1882 births Scientists from Jena 20th-century American businesspeople German emigrants to the United States