Posted 14 years ago
mrgenman
(1 item)
The Geochron World Time Machine was invented by Jim Kilburg with the idea that one device could be used to determine what time it is anywhere in the world.
Kilburg was a mechanical genius & engineer who perfected his craft and knack for ingenuity while living in Luxembourg Germany. And after moving to America, Kilburg devoted his life to creating innovations such as the car cigarette lighter, the first automatic dialing telephone, as well as the automated maraschino cherry pitter. The Geochron however was inspired for less practical reasons.
In 1962, Mr. Kilburg was overseas visiting relatives in Luxembourg. Unable to make the trip to Europe, his wife Dorothy picked up the phone to call him one day. With some help from the international operator, she got through from California. Unfortunately for her husband, it happened to be 2:00 a.m. in Luxemburg and this gave Mr. Kilburg all the inspiration he needed to create the world's first accurate global time machine, and in 1965, the Geochron was born.
Now, what makes this Geochron piece so unique is a couple things..... This is one of the first hand made by James Kilburg Sr. himself. This one was built in 1966, (serial #3048 the 48th) and is one of only 72 ever hand made by Jim before going to his production process.
But the best feature about this piece is that it was custom made for Harry D. Holt grandson of Benjamin L. Holt, inventor of the Caterpillar track tractor now known as CATERPILLAR by trademark, and the 130th largest company in the world! Harry was one of two Holt Brothers that continued the business as the first Caterpillar dealer in the world and was located in Stockton California where its rich history began and also where this amazing time piece was hanging in Holt's boardroom until being gifted to me in 2002 by Ken Monroe President of what is now known as Holt of California.
Thank for letting me share this part of American history
