John Patterson, founder of NCR, did not invent the cash register, as many people assume. Patterson was an entrepreneur who bought the patent from the two Dayton brothers who had invented the “Incorruptible Cashier.” James Ritty, a saloonkeeper, came up with the idea after losing so much money to thieving clerks. On an ocean voyage, Ritty visited the engine room, where he saw a machine that counted the rotations of the ship’s propeller. He partnered with his brother John, a machinist, to develop the first cash register. Patterson first bought two registers; then five years later, in 1884, he bought the company that held Ritty’s patents, sight unseen. The company was in tremendous debt and had a horrible reputation. Within four years, however, Patterson had turned the young company around so completely that it was unable to keep up with orders. That company was National Cash Register.