The Millionaire Calculator was designed by a Frenchman, Leon Bollee, in 1892 and a German Patent was granted in 1895. 4 Years after a machine is introduced by a Swiss Otto Steiger and built by Hans W. Egli of Zurich, from 1899 to 1935, the “Millionaire” was the first machine capable of direct multiplication. Previous to this, multiplication had been accomplished by successive additions. The Millionaire did away with this repetitive operation and could multiply two numbers with a single turn of the crank.

Only the earliest production seems to have been cased in mahogany. By today’s standards, the machine is quite cumbersome. Made of brass and steel, it weighs about 100 pounds. The machine, called the Millionaire, was developed primarily for big business. But very quickly they were used by Scientists.