Sparks-Withington Co., (Sparton); Jackson, Michigan.

The Sparton Corporation was founded as the Withington Company in 1900 in Jackson, Michigan, by Philip and Winthrop Withington. William Sparks became the third partner in the business a few years later and the company name was changed to the Sparks-Withington Company. Sparks-Withington began as a small manufacturer of steel parts for agricultural implements but as the automobile revolution began to sweep through Michigan in the early part of the century, Sparks-Withington added steel automotive stampings like hub caps and brake drums to their product line. By 1909, the company was manufacturing car radiator cooling fan assemblies, which quickly became a major part of the company's production output, reaching 275,000 units by 1917. It was during this period that Sparks-Withington began to make use of the trade name "Sparton," a contraction of the company name and an evocation of the disciplined Spartans of Ancient Greece. The company's first major product innovation came in 1911 when the all-electric car horn was developed by Sparks-Withington engineers. The Hudson Automobile Company soon adopted the Sparton electric horn as standard equipment for its automobiles, replacing the optional bulb horns that had characterized the early era of the automobile. Radio and Television Production in the 1930s and 1940s The Sparks-Withington Company was officially incorporated in Ohio in 1916 and then reincorporated in 1919 when shares in the company began to be sold on the New York Stock Exchange. After a brief period of military production during World War I, Sparks-Withington used its growing expertise in the electronics field to bring out a line of battery powered radios, followed in 1926 by production of the country's first all-electric radio, promoted as "Radio's Richest Voice." While many American companies suffered during the Great Depression, Sparks-Withington expanded. In 1930, the company formed a wholly-owned Canadian subsidiary, Sparton of Canada, Ltd., to introduce the Sparton radio line in Canada.

Sparks-Withington Co.; Jackson, Michigan. - Trade names Jewel, Sparton. 1934/35 Sparton made also the tube VG-1 also called VisoGlo, a glow discharge tube (glow tube, glow light tube) as a tuning indicator (see Sparton Model 83) before the magic eye.

Sparton brand radios were produced by the Sparks-Withington Co. of Jackson Michigan. Originally involved in the manufacturing of automotive parts (particularly horns and radiator fans), the company had been formed in 1900 by General W. H. Withington and his sons Philip and Winthrop. William Sparks, a young immigrant from England joined the company shortly after it was formed.

Radio production was added to the company in 1925 under license from Roy Weagant, who formerly designed DeForest TRF sets. Sparton was one of the first to use Kellogg AC tubes. In the late 1920s, Sparton at first refused to license RCA's patents, which led Sparton into the business of making its own tubes under the Cardon brand to guarantee its supply. Sparton's Equasonne models in 1928 were another measure to avoid RCA's patents - these models used a special circuit licensed from Technidyne Corp. In 1929, Sparton finally negotiated a license with RCA - after showing that it had the capability and will to do without RCA if necessary. Once licensed by RCA, Sparton ceased making its own tubes.

Sparton was not particularly successful in the radio business after 1930, but continued to produce radios and TVs until 1956, when some of its assets were sold to Magnavox to form the "Spartan" (note different spelling) division of Magnavox. The name of the company changed from Sparks-Withington to Sparton Corp. in 1956, and it continues as a successful company today, making a variety of products in aerospace, defense, medical, and other product lines

Sources:
1. Alan Douglas, "Radio Manufacturers of the 1920s," Vol. 3, The Vestal Press Ltd., Vestal, NY (1991).
2. Current company information at www.sparton.com.
3. Date of sale of assets to Magnavox (1956) from original advertisements and dating of SAMS service literature. Bitte wählen Neuer Text wird dem alten hinten angehängt. Neuer Text ersetzt den alten. Neuer Text wird dem alten vorangestellt. Geschichte (3)