Walter Schlage

Walter Reinhold Schlage was a German born engineer and inventor, best known for the bored cylindrical lock and the lock company that bears his name, Schlage Lock Co..

Early Training and Travels

Later in his life he became known as the "Lock Wizard of Thuringia". Early on in his life, however, his father recognized his aptitude for mechanics and academics and worked on his behalf to have his son admitted to the Carl Zeiss Optical Works in Jena, Germany. During his apprenticeship, Walter learned drafting, applied mechanics and engineering. After four years he graduated with a special award of merit, as a result of his applied scholarship.

Walter developed a sense of adventure that was whetted by guests that stayed in his father's hotel, in Thuringia, Germany. Following his training he left Germany for London where he worked as an instrument maker for Hileger, Ltd.. Lasting only a year in England he emigrated to the United States where he gained employment with the Western Electric Company.

With a continuing desire to see the world however, Schlage signed on as a ship's engineer and sailed for Brazil, the West Indies and Central America. Eventually, Schalge worked his way to California and then on to San Francisco, where he again was employed by Western Electric Company.

Settling in and Inventing

Instilled with a strong old-world work ethic, Schlage would work at his job and then return to home where he experimented with lock mechanisms. His first patent was in 1909, inventing a door lock that turned lights on and off.

Leaving employment with Western Electric Company again, in 1920, Schlage opened a shop in San Francisco in what is now the financial district. Here he designed and tooled the parts for the first lock with the push-button centered in the door knob.

Schlage's new company grew quickly and into larger facilities throughout the 1920s. In 1927, Schlage partnered with a San Francisco businessman and financier, Charles Kendrick.

In 1940, Schlage was awarded the Modern Pioneer award given to outstanding American inventors.

Walter Schlage died in 1946.

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