David Packard David Packard ( September 7 , 1912 – March 26 , 1996 ) was a co - founder , with William Hewlett , of Hewlett - Packard ( 1939 ) , serving as president ( 1947 – 1964 ) , CEO ( 1964 – 1968 ) , and Chairman of the Board ( 1964 – 1968 , 1972 – 1993 ) . He served as U . S . Deputy Secretary of Defense from 1969 – 1971 during the Nixon administration . Packard served as President of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences ( USU ) from 1976 to 1981 . He was also chairman of the Board of Regents from 1973 to 1982 . Packard was the recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1988 and is noted for many technological innovations and philanthropic endeavors . Personal . David Packard was born in Pueblo , Colorado , and attended Centennial High School , where early on he showed an interest in science , engineering , sports , and leadership . His father was an attorney . He earned his B . A . from Stanford University in 1934 , where he earned letters in football and basketball and attained membership in the Phi Beta Kappa Society and was a Brother of the Alpha Delta Phi Literary Fraternity . Stanford is where he met two people who were important to his life : Lucile Salter and Bill Hewlett . Packard then briefly attended the University of Colorado before he left to work for the General Electric Company in Schenectady , New York . In 1938 , he returned to Stanford from New York , where he earned a Master ' s Degree in Electrical Engineering in 1938 . In the same year , he married Lucile Salter , with whom he had four children : David , Nancy , Susan , and Julie . Lucile Packard died in 1987 . Hewlett - Packard . In 1939 , Packard and Hewlett established Hewlett - Packard ( HP ) in Packard ' s garage with an initial capital investment of $ 538 . Packard mentions in his book " The HP Way " that the name Hewlett - Packard was determined by the flip of a coin : HP , rather than PH . Their first product was a sound oscillator sold to Walt Disney Studios for use on the soundtrack of " Fantasia " . The " HP Way " describes HP ' s management philosophy , which encourages creativity and shuns traditional business hierarchy and formality . During World War II HP produced radio , sonar , radar , nautical , and aviation devices . The company , where Packard proved to be an expert administrator and Hewlett provided many technical innovations , grew into the world ' s largest producer of electronic testing and measurement devices . It also became a major producer of calculators , computers , and laser and ink jet printers . HP incorporated in 1947 , with Packard becoming its first president , serving in that role until 1964 ; he was then elected Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board , holding these positions through 1968 . He left HP in 1969 to serve in the Nixon administration until 1971 , at which time he returned to HP and was re - elected Chairman of the Board , serving from 1972 to 1993 . In 1991 , Packard oversaw a major reorganization at HP . He retired from HP in 1993 . At the time of his death in 1996 , Packard ' s stake in the company was worth more than $ 1 billion . Defense Department . Upon entering office in 1969 , President Richard M . Nixon appointed Packard U . S . Deputy Secretary of Defense under Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird . Packard resigned in December 1971 and returned to Hewlett - Packard in 1972 as Chairman of the Board . While serving in the DoD , he brought concepts of resource management used in business to the military , as well as establishing the Defense Systems Management College . Near the end of his time at DoD , Packard wrote the " Packard Memo " or " Employment of Military Resources in the Event of Civil Disturbances " . Enacted in February 1972 , the Act describes exceptions to the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act , which limited the powers of the federal government to use the U . S . military for law enforcement , except where expressly authorized by the Constitution or Act of Congress — noting that the Constitution provides an exception when needed " to prevent loss of life or wanton destruction of property and to restore governmental functioning and public order when sudden and unexpected civil disturbances , disasters , or calamities seriously endanger life and property and disrupt normal governmental functions to such an extent that duly constituted local authorities are unable to control the situations " and " to protect Federal property and Federal governmental functions when the need for protection exists and duly constituted local authorities are unable or decline to provide adequate protection " . § 214 . 5 states that " employment of DoD military resources for assistance to civil authorities in controlling civil disturbances will normally be predicated upon the issuance of a Presidential Executive order or Presidential directive authorizing " , with exceptions " limited to : According to Lindorff , these exceptions essentially reinstate the possibility of Martial law in the U . S . , prohibited since 1878 . In the 1970s and 1980s Packard was a prominent advisor to the White House on defense procurement and management . He served as Chairman of The Business Council in 1973 and 1974 . In 1985 - 86 , he served as chairman of The Packard Commission . Internet . At Packard ' s instruction , the domain name " HP . com " was registered on March 3 , 1986 , and as such was one of the earliest to be registered . Philanthropy . From the early 1980s until his death in 1996 , Packard dedicated much of his time and money to philanthropic projects . Prompted by his daughters Nancy Packard Burnett and Julie Packard , in 1978 Dave and Lucile Packard created the Monterey Bay Aquarium Foundation . The couple eventually donated $ 55 million to build the new aquarium , which opened in 1984 with Julie Packard as executive director . In 1987 , Packard gave $ 13 million to create the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute , and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation has since provided about 90 % of the Institute ' s operating budget . In 1964 , the couple founded the David and Lucile Packard Foundation . In 1986 , they donated $ 40 million toward building what became the Lucile Packard Children ' s Hospital at Stanford University ; the new hospital opened in June 1991 . Packard and Hewlett made a combined donation of $ 77 million to Stanford in 1994 , for which the university named the David Packard Electrical Engineering Building in his honor . The building is located adjacent to the William Hewlett Teaching Center . Packard was a member of the American Enterprise Institute ' s board of trustees . He died on March 26 , 1996 at age 83 in Stanford , California , leaving the bulk of his estate to the David and Lucile Packard Foundation . On his death , approximately $ 4 billion was given to the Packard Foundation , including large amounts of valuable real property in Los Altos Hills . All three Packard daughters sit on the Foundation ' s board of trustees . Honors . Packard ' s old home and garage in Palo Alto , California were placed on the California registry of historic places as " The Birthplace of Silicon Valley " . He also had an oil tanker named for him . The " David Packard " , built in 1977 , was operated for Chevron , had a capacity and was registered under the Bahamian flag .