HONEYWELL INC.

major American multinational corporation, producer of electronic control systems and automation equipment. It is a major supplier of engineering services and avionics for NASA and the U.S. Department of Defense. Headquarters are in Minneapolis, Minn. In 1885 Albert M. Butz, who pioneered the use of furnace dampers and thermostats, formed the Butz Thermo-Electric Regulator Company, which was later reorganized and renamed (1912) the Minneapolis Heat Regulator Co. In 1906 Mark C. Honeywell founded the Honeywell Heating Specialty Co. The two firms merged in 1927 to form the Minneapolis-Honeywell Regulator Co., which in 1934 acquired the Brown Instrument Co. (founded 1859). In 1941, as a defense contractor for the U.S. government, Honeywell created the first autopilot, and in 1958 its flight controls helped launch the first American satellite. Honeywell Inc. took its present name in 1964. In 1986 Honeywell purchased Sperry Aerospace Operations. Among Honeywell's products are building controls (including ventilation, heating, and air-conditioning systems), electronic switches and motors, alarms, industrial automation systems, microelectronics, medical instruments, military and commercial avionics, and space systems. Its military control equipment ranges from missile and bomb guidance systems to cockpit displays and optical and electronic sensors.