Celebrating Centurion: Thomas 'Tom' Harriman '38

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Committed to the Work of Life

CelebratingCenturion

Thomas “Tom” Harriman ’38,

On a fall day in late 2021, Nichols School alumnus Thomas “Tom” Harriman ’38 received a delivery at his home in Santa Barbara, California from Buffalo. A large package addressed to Harriman had arrived with the return address listed as Nichols School at Amherst Street.

When Harriman unsealed the package, a flood of envelopes fell out. He slowly opened them one by one. “Happy Birthday,” “Celebrate,” “Congratulations on the Day of Your 100th birthday.” Harriman was the recipient of one hundred birthday cards handwritten by Nichols Middle and Upper School students. Thestudents had come together to recognize Harriman, an esteemed alumnus, on the date of his one hundredth birthday and to celebrate Nichols’ oldest living alumni.

“I was tickled,” Harriman said. “We had a party with family, and it was a great surprise.”

Buffalo, Nichols, and Beyond Harriman’s father, Lewis G. Harriman, a banker with Fidelity Trust Company, moved his family to Buffalo and was instrumental in the merger of Fidelity with Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company, the precursor of present-day M&T Bank, of which he became President

at the age of 36. He also served as a trustee of Nichols School.

Born at Children’s Hospital and reared at 620 West Ferry Street in Buffalo, Tom Harriman entered Nichols School as a fifth grader in 1930. Anchored by Albright Hall and its iconic bell tower, Nichols back then appeared as a vast landscape of grass and woodlands when Harriman walked on to the school’s campus more than eight decades ago. Despite the idyllic scene on Nichols campus, it was a time when Europe was facing the horrific impact of Adolf Hitler, which had yet to reach the UnitedStates soil.

In pre-World War II Buffalo, Harriman was the youngest of four boys, who all attended Nichols before him. Lew Jr, ’34, William ’36, and John (Jack) ’37, preceded their brother Tom. Their last sibling was a girl, Elizabeth, who also had a Nichols connection, as she married Charles Bean, Nichols ’41.

As a young Middle Schooler, Harriman described himself as a “loner.” But, at Nichols, he quickly became more comfortable in his skin as he entered Upper School. Harriman, a standout student academically, achieved highest honors and was notably always at the top of his class. He was captain of the tennis team and played

Pictured at Le Cumbre Country Club in Santa Barbara, CA, Leslie Garcia, Assistant Head of School for Advancement; Tom Harriman ’38; Chris Burner, Head of School; Richard Harriman ’62.

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football, until a shoulder injury led to him switching to the soccer team, of which he was voted captain. Harriman excelled at languages and credits Nichols with his keen grasp of French and his exceptional academic foundation. “I had the highest honors in high school and later when I went to Switzerland, I studied French and was able to translate from Latin directly to French within six weeks because of what I was taught at Nichols. I had a good solid background at Nichols School,” stated Harriman.

Harriman entered Dartmouth College in the fall of 1938 to study finance at the encouragement of his father, a lifelong investment banker. He was set to attend the Sorbonne in Paris for his junior year, until World War II and the advancement of the Nazis thwarted Harriman’s plans.

“There I was planning an investment banking career when the Nazis rolled over France,” said Harriman. “Therefore, I was not going to be at the Sorbonne my junior year, and I damn well better be doing something for the war effort,” he added.

The War Effort Young men across America were reporting for the draft, but due to his poor vision, Harriman was told a desk job awaited him in Washington. Harriman realized he “did not want to end up in a clerk job” and accepted a position as a Test Flight Engineer at Bell Aircraft after completing his mater’s degree in aeronautical engineering at M.I.T.

“We performed flight tests right from the airfield in Niagara Falls. With the war on, we all had to do something,” he said. “They had a contract from the United States (Government) and that is how I escaped being a clerk in Washington … I had jumped from Dartmouth to M.I.T., so I was making aircraft for the war,” he added.

With his skills in high demand, Harriman pressed forward at Bell Aircraft through the end of the War.

The First Commercial Helicopter In post-war America, Harriman and Bell Aircraft pivoted their attention to the race to create the first commercial helicopter. Neck and neck in competition with Sikorsky Helicopters, which introduced the first military helicopter, Harriman spent his days and nights analyzing the weight and lift of Bell’s prototype.

“I was never more than two feet away from my math notebook, my laboratory notebook,” said Harriman. “I

would be sitting on a tennis court on Sunday, and I would be designing a part that had to be sent to manufacturing on Monday,” he added.

With a pencil and a notebook to record observations and calculations alongside his mentor, inventor Arthur Young, he served as project engineer on what became the first helicopter certified by the Civil Aeronautics Board, which preceded the FAA, for commercial use. Registered as Bell’s NC-1H, the serial code was branded onto the model of the world’s first civilian helicopter, the Model 47.

“In eight months, I got us to have the first commercial certificate to produce and sell the first Bell helicopter for civilian use,” Harriman said.

When Bell Aircraft moved to Texas, Harriman moved his young family to Dallas, where he flourished in commercial aviation. Yet, after 18 months, the family returned to Buffalo.

“Despite working in the best job for the best company. I moved my family back to Buffalo in 1953, because of the social climate of the South back then. It was a hard decision, but it meant I could send two boys to Nichols School,” Harriman said.

The early piston engine helicopter, the Model 47, that Harriman was so instrumental in sending into the skies was also known as the “Whirlybird,” and was widely used in the Korean War. The Vietnam model was known as the Bell Huey, widely used by U.S. forces in Vietnam, is recognized by many in the television show “M.A.S.H.”

An avid skier, Harriman was the co-inventor of the ski-shaped landing gear used on this helicopter, and many others, for which he and a colleague were granted a U.S. patent. The helicopter is still in commercial use today.

Post-Aerospace Career After his esteemed career in aeronautics, Harriman pivoted and left Bell Aircraft in 1958. He moved his family to Pasadena, California, to work in the electronics industry for a company which eventually became Conrac. In 1966, the headquarters moved to Manhattan, and Harriman moved his family to Greenwich, Connecticut, for twenty years.

While at Conrac, he applied his engineering expertise on consumer products. He was integral on projects such as the introduction of high-resolution monitors, connectivity of doorbell circuits, and application of

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microcircuits. Harriman spent almost thirty years working in this innovative industry, during a time when his company saw great profitability and development, before retiring to Santa Barbara in 1986.

True to the commitment to learning and public service that he displayed at Nichols, in retirement, Harriman became involved in the Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative at the University of California at Santa Barbara. Now a trustee of this initiative, he seeks to discover the hidden capabilities of the human brain.

As a capstone to his business career, Harriman served four terms on the Board of Trustees of UC Santa Barbara, served on a local employment development initiative with other business leaders in Santa Barbara, and served on the Board of the Ensemble Theatre Company. Additionally, he found the Pacific Research Center and a start-up corporation which developed last-mile Internet connectivity. Harriman was also active in local political campaigns, including the election of two Congressional representatives.

Distinguished Alumni Award A true Renaissance Man, Harriman is the living embodiment of the Nichols School mission, “to carry into all we do the highest ideals of character and service.” For this he was honored with the honor of the 2022 Distinguished Alumni Award.

To mark the occasion, Head of School Chris Burner and Assistant Head of School for Advancement Leslie Garcia surprised Harriman with the award while on a West Coast development trip. At a lunch at the La Cumbre Country Club, Burner summarized Harriman’s importance to the school.

“Our mission at Nichols is to prepare students for the ‘work of life.’ In your life, Tom Harriman, you put your education to work and pioneered in aviation and technology. Our lives are different because of your ingenuity, and for that, we are honored to present you with the 2022 Nichols School Distinguished Alumni Award. You are a living example for today’s students and for students for generations to come,” Burner said.

For Harriman, enjoying a lunch on a warm spring day in his adopted hometown of Santa Barbara, it was a day of reflection and appreciation for the city and school that gave him his foundation.

“Buffalo has made a real comeback and it is great to see. What an opportunity for Nichols students to partner with innovators working in the Medical Corridor, the startup community, and beyond,” Harriman said. “When I look back, Nichols School gave me the foundation for my life that outfitted me to do everything else.” •

The Nichols News team 1936 – 1937. Harriman was Sports Editor.

Nichols Boys Varsity Soccer 1936

Harriman and co-workers of Bell Aircraft.

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