Biography

Gantt was born on a plantation in Maryland of parents who had been prosperous farmers until they lost everything in the Civil War. After obtaining a BA at John Hopkins College, Baltimore, he worked as a science teacher and draughtsman until becoming assistant to Taylor, then chief engineer at Midvale Steel Co.

Gantt's first original contribution to management was his "task and bonus" system, which was less severe and more acceptable than Taylor's "differential piecework", on which it was based.

His most consequential contribution to management ideas was his Gantt or Bar Chart, which was the first programme chart to plot activity and time together. In it, he amalgamated into one chart what had previously required 37 sheets. He refused to exploit the commercial value of the chart by patenting it; he regarded it as his contribution to society.

On Taylor's death, Gantt became the acknowledged leader of the "Scientific Management Group".

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