California born engineer and inventor Keith W. (Tant) Tantlinger, he was aged 92 and died at home in Escondido, California last week.
Although strictly speaking he was not the inventor of the container, instead, he invented the corner casting and twist lock system that enabled them to become a practical commercially viable and revolutionise logistics
The New York Times has a good article, click here to read
Thus, without ever intending to, Mr. Tantlinger, an engineer who died at 92 on Aug. 27 and who had long worked out of the limelight, helped bring about the vast web of international trade that is a fact of 21st-century life. More than any other innovation, the modern shipping container — by turns venerated and castigated — is now acknowledged to have been the spark that touched off globalization.
Exactly.
Petition for a statue I think…..
built using miniature cargo containers
tom
why miniature?
I demand a colosus spanning the channel!!!
Am I the only one who is slightly curious as to what they buried him in?
BB
You were, now I do hope it was an ISO box…
Did he have a 20′ wife and two charming 10′ kids? (Especially as, IIRC, he was responsible for the decision to have arithmetically related sizes – 1x 40′ = 2x 20′ or 4x 10′ or 1x 20′+2x 10′)