High Achieving Dyslexics: Bill Hewlett

Bill Hewlett came to California in 1916 (when he was two) but his academic career was unimpressive.  As a child, he had exceptional difficulty with written material and writing assignments.  He later said these difficulties helped him to   develop exceptional memorization and logical skills. Hewlett excelled in  mathematics and sciences, which, with his father's tenure at Stanford, helped  him gain entry to the university in 1930.

William R. Hewlett,  1913-2001

Considered one of the founding fathers of  "Silicon Valley" and the American electronics industry, William Hewlett with  his friend and partner David Packard began his career in electronic development  in a garage in the 1930s. After more than 60 years as a pioneer in his industry  and in a second career as a philanthropist, William Hewlett died January 12th,  2001 at the age of 86.

Ranked as one of America's wealthiest  individuals by Forbes Magazine, William Redington Hewlett was born May 20th,  1913 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the son of a successful physician. Hewlett became  a Californian and was put on the path to Stanford University in 1916, when his  father accepted a teaching position at the college. Hewlett's early academic  career was initially unimpressive, hampered by undiagnosed dyslexia, which gave  him difficulty with written material and writing assignments, but led him to  develop exceptional memorization and logical skills. Hewlett excelled in  mathematics and sciences, which, with his father's tenure at Stanford, helped  him gain entry to the university in 1930.

During his freshman year at Stanford Hewlett  met David Packard, the son of a Colorado attorney who shared his interests in  the sciences, and engineering as well as hiking and back-packing. Hewlett and  his friend studied engineering under Frederick Terman until Hewlett graduated  with his bachelors degree in 1934. Hewlett continued his studies at MIT, where  he earned his first masters degree in 1936 before returning to Stanford for a  masters degree in engineering. Hewlett's return to Stanford reunited him with  Professor Terman and with Packard, who had married while launching a career  with General Electric.

In 1938, Hewlett and Packard went in on their  first joint venture- living quarters. Packard and his wife moved into a modest  house in the Palo Alto suburbs, with Packard occupying bachelors quarters in  the rear. That year Hewlett married Stanford biochemist Flora Lamson and with  the moral and financial support of Professor Terman turned their Palo Alto  garage into the site of their fledgling electronics company. Hewlett, the  acknowledged inventor of the pair, won a coin toss to become the first-named  partner in Hewlett-Packard, which was officially launched by the 25-year-old  engineers on January 1st, 1939 with less than $550 in investment  capital.

Previous Posts about high achieving dyslexics:

Toby Cosgrove
Jack Horner
David Ackerman
Brad Elder
Brian Grazer
Nancy A. Ratey
Gareth Cook
Wendy Goppelt
David Iler
Diana Wynn Jones
Stephen J. Cannell
Joan T. Esposito
Sir Paul Smith
Guy Ritchie
Chris Boese
Lou Lombardo
Taylor Beattie
Bill Hewlett

Comments

[Stacy Spigelman]

I have a gifted son who is diagnosed with dyslexia and dysraphia.He has been in several schools that were unable to meet his needs. We have finally found a wonderful school that is absolutely perfect for him. The city of MD has denied to fund him. In MD dyslexia is not recognized as a learning disabbility. As he is one child of 5 children, 4 of whom have learning differences, we have fallen on hard times financially. My husband was laid off 10 months ago when his company was downsized.
We are trying to raise the funds personally for our son to stay in his school, The Lab School of Baltimore,where he has finally found hapiness.I wonder if you might have any suggestions where we might turn to during these hard times. If someone is actually reading this a reply would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you for taking you time and attention.
Sincerely,
Stacy Spigelman

[Molly Noble Bull]

Several years ago, I was declared a high achieving dyslexic at this website. Now I have a book out that I would like to tell others about. It's titled The Overcomers: Christian Authors Who Conquered Learning Disabilities by Margaret Daley, Ginny Aiken, Jane Myers Perrine, Ruth Scofied and me, Molly Noble Bull. All five of us have published with Love Inspired, a Christian romance novel series, but this is our first non-ficton book.
The Overcomers is already out at Amazon as an e-book. But it is not yet available in paperback. We are hoping you will consider featuring it at your website.
For a sample of what the book is like, go to Amazon and write Molly Noble Bull in the search slot.
Those wishing to contact me can do so by sending a letter to Westbow Press, Attention Molly Noble Bull. Or going to Molly Noble Bull on Facebook.
http://www.mollynoblebull.com
Molly