Walter Shawlee

Walter Shawlee
Born(1949-11-27)November 27, 1949
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Died(2023-09-04)September 4, 2023 (aged 73)
EducationUniversity of California, Los Angeles
Known forSlide rule collecting

Walter Shawlee (November 27 1949[1] — September 4, 2023) was a renowned American collector of slide rules. He was born in Los Angeles,[2] and attended University of California, Los Angeles to study electronics engineering and mathematics, and left before completing a degree.[3] He first started a company in 1979 at Prince George, British Columbia, Northern Airborne Technology,[4] then later ran an online outlet for vintage electronics, Sphere Research Corporation, in Kelowna, with a section titled "Slide Rule Universe".[3] In 2003, he was reported to make over $100,000 a year on the slide rule trade.[5] Shawlee’s mother, actress Joan Shawlee, was best known for playing bandleader Sweet Sue in the Billy Wilder film Some Like It Hot, where she worked with stars Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, and Jack Lemmon. She also played “Pickles” Sorrell in The Dick Van Dyke Show.

Shawlee died of cancer on September 4, 2023, at the age of 73.[2]

References

  1. ↑ Original data: State of California. California Birth Index, 1905-1995. Sacramento, CA, USA: State of California Department of Health Services, Center for Health Statistics.
  2. 1 2 Traub 2024.
  3. 1 2 Backhouse 2007.
  4. ↑ Johansen 2024.
  5. ↑ Tam 2003.

Sources

  • Traub, Alex (February 8, 2024). "Walter Shawlee, the Sovereign of Slide Rules, Is Dead at 73". The New York Times.
  • Backhouse, Frances (November 1, 2007), "The Retailer of the Lost Electronics Ark – Shopping for a used oscilloscope or a rare spare vacuum tube? Walter Shawlee II's online warehouse may be the place to go", IEEE Spectrum
  • Tam, Pui-Wing (February 18, 2003). "Calculating Collector Scours Globe Hunting for Slide Rules". The Wall Street Journal.
  • Johansen, Nicholas (February 11, 2024). "Kelowna slide-rule enthusiast featured in New York Times article – 'SOVEREIGN OF SLIDE RULES'". castanet.net. Kelowna, British Columbia: Castanet Media.

Further reading


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