Otis Boykin
American inventor and engineer (1920-1982)
Otis Frank Boykin (August 29, 1920 – March 26, 1982) was an American inventor and engineer. His inventions include electrical resistors used in computing, missile guidance, and pacemakers.
Early life
Otis Boykin was born on August 29, 1920, in Dallas, Texas. His father, Walter B. Boykin, was a carpenter, and later became a preacher. His mother, Sarah, was a maid, who died of heart failure when Otis was a year old. This inspired him to help improve the pacemaker.
Education
Boykin attended Booker T. Washington High School in Dallas, where he was the valedictorian, graduating in 1938. He attended Fisk University on a scholarship, worked as a laboratory assistant at the university's nearby aerospace laboratory, and left in 1941.
Career
After graduating, Boykin moved to Chicago where he found work as a clerk at Electro Manufacturing Company. He was subsequently hired as a laboratory assistant for the Majestic Radio and Television Corporation; at that company, he rose to become foreman of their factory.
The public source identifies “Otis Boykin” as american inventor and engineer (1920-1982). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Otis, Boykin and American.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Otis Boykin”, the useful work is to connect “american inventor and engineer (1920-1982)” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Chronology provides the most reliable spine for this subject; interpretation should follow only after identities and dates are secure. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 11, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7108761. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1920, 1982, 1938 and 1941.
Public reputation and documentary evidence do not always develop together; absence from a summary is not evidence of historical absence. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.
- Establishing names and roles
- Building a first chronology
- Locating cited institutions
Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Otis Boykin”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Otis Boykin primary sources, Otis Boykin archive and Otis research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Otis Boykin”?
- How has the subject’s reputation changed across later accounts?
- Which claims depend on a single source or contested interpretation?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Otis Boykin” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.