In 1939, Packard and Hewlett established Hewlett-Packard (HP) in Packard's garage with an initial capital investment of $538 (equivalent to US$11,785 in 2023).[4][6] Packard mentions in his book The HP Way that the name Hewlett-Packard was determined by the flip of a coin: HP, rather than PH.[6][8] Their first product was an audio frequency oscillator, 8 of which were sold to Walt Disney Studios for testing sound equipment used to produce Fantasia.[6]
HP incorporated in 1947, with Packard becoming its first president, serving in that role until 1964. He was then elected chief executive officer and chairman of the board, holding those positions through 1968.[11] Packard left HP in 1969 to serve in the Nixon administration until 1971, at which time he returned to HP and was re-elected chairman of the board, serving from 1972 to 1993.[12] In 1991, Packard oversaw a major reorganization at HP. He retired from HP in 1993. At the time of his death in 1996, Packard's stake in the company was worth more than $1 billion.[13]
Packard was criticized for expanding into South Africa, where HP equipment was used to implement apartheid. In 1980, he presided over the groundbreaking ceremony for HP's headquarters in Johannesburg.[14] When Nebraska became the first US state government to divest from South Africa, Packard remarked "I'd rather lose business in Nebraska than with South Africa."[15]
At Packard's instruction,[16] the domain name "HP.com" was registered on March 3, 1986, and as such was one of the earliest to be registered.[17][18]
While serving in the Department of Defense (DoD), he brought concepts of resource management used in business to the military, as well as establishing the Defense Systems Management College.[21] In 1970, Packard issued a memorandum that contained a number of major reforms designed to address "the real mess we have on our hands."[22] A key reform was elimination of Robert MacNamara's Total Package Procurement except in rare situations.[22]
Near the end of his time at DoD, Packard wrote the "Packard Memo" or "Employment of Military Resources in the Event of Civil Disturbances".[23] Enacted in February 1972, the act[24] describes exceptions to the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act, which limited the powers of the federal government to use the U.S. military for law enforcement, except where expressly authorized by the ConstitutionorAct of Congress — noting that the Constitution provides an exception when needed "to prevent loss of life or wanton destruction of property and to restore governmental functioning and public order when sudden and unexpected civil disturbances, disasters, or calamities seriously endanger life and property and disrupt normal governmental functions to such an extent that duly constituted local authorities are unable to control the situations" and "to protect Federal property and Federal governmental functions when the need for protection exists and duly constituted local authorities are unable or decline to provide adequate protection".[25] § 214.5 states that "employment of DoD military resources for assistance to civil authorities in controlling civil disturbances will normally be predicated upon the issuance of a Presidential Executive order or Presidential directive authorizing", with exceptions "limited to:
Cases of sudden and unexpected emergencies as described in §215.4(c)(1)(i), which require that immediate military action be taken.
Providing military resources to civil authorities as prescribed in §215.9 of this part."[26]
According to Lindorff, these exceptions reinstate the possibility of martial law in the U.S., prohibited since 1878.[27]
From the early 1980s until his death in 1996, Packard dedicated much of his time and money to philanthropic projects.[29] In 1964, Packard and his wife had established the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. In 1986, they donated $40 million toward building what became the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford University; the new hospital opened in June 1991. Prompted by his daughters Nancy and Julie, in 1978 David and Lucile had created the Monterey Bay Aquarium Foundation. The couple eventually donated $55 million to build the new aquarium, which opened in 1984 with Julie Packard as its executive director.[4] In 1987, Packard gave $13 million to create the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute.[4] Packard and Hewlett made a combined donation of $77 million to Stanford in 1994,[30] for which the university named the David Packard Electrical Engineering Building in his honor.[31]
Packard's old home and garage in Palo Alto, California were placed on the California registry of historic places as "The Birthplace of Silicon Valley".[6] He also had an oil tanker named for him.[41] The David Packard, built in 1977, was operated for Chevron, had a capacity 406,592 long tons deadweight (DWT) and was registered under the Bahamianflag.[citation needed] In 2021, MBARI built a new research vessel named R/V David Packard in honor of him as their founder.[42]
^"1971". The Public Papers of President Richard Nixon. Archived from the original on July 22, 2008. Retrieved September 21, 2008. Letter Accepting the Resignation of David Packard as Deputy Secretary of Defense. December 11, 1971
