Perkin-Elmer Corporation - Specimen Stock Certificate

Specimen Stock printed by American Bank Note Company.

Founded in 1937 by Richard Perkin and Charles Elmer, Perkin-Elmer rose to prominence as a leading force in American precision optics and analytical instrumentation. Headquartered in Connecticut, the company initially gained recognition during World War II by manufacturing high-quality optical components for military rangefinders and bombsights. After the war, Perkin-Elmer successfully transitioned to the scientific community, becoming a pioneer in the development of infrared spectroscopy and other groundbreaking analytical tools that revolutionized chemical analysis. By the mid-20th century, Perkin-Elmer had become synonymous with scientific precision, providing essential hardware that powered laboratories across the pharmaceutical, environmental, and academic sectors.

Despite its long history of success, Perkin-Elmer is perhaps most famously—and infamously—associated with its role as the primary contractor for the Hubble Space Telescope’s primary mirror. While the mirror was an engineering marvel, a minor “spherical aberration” caused by a miscalibrated testing device resulted in initial blurry images. However, this challenge was eventually resolved by NASA’s service missions. Beyond space exploration, Perkin-Elmer played a pivotal role in the Human Genome Project through its Applied Biosystems division, which developed automated DNA sequencers that significantly accelerated the mapping of human life. Today, while the original corporate structure has evolved through various divestitures and mergers, the PerkinElmer brand (now part of Revvity in certain sectors) continues to exert a profound influence on the fields of life sciences and diagnostics.