The familiar Phillips head screwdriver traces its commercial success to patents filed in the early 1930s. John P. Thompson, an Oregon mechanic, is credited as the inventor, while Henry F. Phillips acquired the rights, refined the design, and founded the Phillips Screw Company. General Motors adopted the screw in 1937, royalties grew rapidly, and a 1947 U.S. antitrust suit led to the 1949 dissolution of a patent pool; the patents expired in 1966, allowing widespread adoption.
How the Phillips Head Screwdriver Got Its Name — and Who Actually Invented It
The familiar Phillips head screwdriver traces its commercial success to patents filed in the early 1930s. John P. Thompson, an Oregon mechanic, is credited as the inventor, while Henry F. Phillips acquired the rights, refined the design, and founded the Phillips Screw Company. General Motors adopted the screw in 1937, royalties grew rapidly, and a 1947 U.S. antitrust suit led to the 1949 dissolution of a patent pool; the patents expired in 1966, allowing widespread adoption.
07:25 PM, 11/15/2025Technology
How the Phillips Head Screwdriver Got Its Name — and Who Actually Invented It
Few hand tools are as ubiquitous as the Phillips head screwdriver. For many homeowners it sits alongside a hammer and tape measure as an essential item. The Phillips design—a cruciform recess matched to a tapered driver—became a default for manufacturers and builders despite being only about 90 years old.
Origin and invention
The specific screw-and-driver system most people recognize was patented in the early 1930s. Although earlier inventors, including Englishman John Frearson, had explored cruciform-style recesses, the design that dominated industry is tied to a Portland, Oregon mechanic named John P. Thompson. Thompson filed the patent paperwork in 1932; the patents were granted in 1933 and listed Thompson as the inventor.
How the name Phillips came about
The patents were recorded as assigned "By Direct and Mesne Assignments" to Henry F. Phillips, a Portland businessman and then-managing director of the Oregon Copper Company. The precise terms of the transfer are unclear, but historians believe Thompson, who worked as an automobile mechanic and later died in Portland in 1940, lacked the resources to mass-produce and market the design. Phillips acquired the rights, refined the concept, and attached his own name to the fastener.
Commercial adoption and growth
After forming the Phillips Screw Company, Phillips continued to improve the design and filed additional patents by 1936. The design’s industrial breakthrough came quickly: General Motors began using Phillips-head screws in 1937, notably in Cadillacs, which helped the fastener gain wide acceptance in automotive and manufacturing assembly lines. By 1940 the company had earned approximately $1.3 million in royalties.
Legal and wartime challenges
World War II brought both increased demand and new complications. Wartime restrictions limited some international licensing arrangements—especially those with Japanese manufacturers—and disrupted parts of Phillips’ overseas business. Phillips retired in 1945.
In 1947 the U.S. government sued the Phillips Screw Company and 17 manufacturers, alleging anti-competitive practices such as patent pooling, price fixing, and suppression of competing technologies. The litigation culminated in 1949 with the dissolution of the patent pool. When the Phillips patents expired in 1966, other toolmakers were free to use the design, which helped cement the Phillips head’s place in toolboxes and factories worldwide.
Legacy
Although the name "Phillips" remains attached to the screwdriver, the invention itself is credited to John P. Thompson, while Henry F. Phillips played the decisive role in commercializing and popularizing the design. The Phillips Screw Company continued operating and, as of recent records, remains in business in Massachusetts.
Bottom line: The Phillips head is a product of invention and industry—an inventive mechanic’s idea brought to millions of assembly lines through a businessman’s vision and marketing.