Leeds & Northrup

Leeds & Northrup

Leeds & Northrup is a historic American manufacturer of precision electrical measurement instruments, founded in 1899 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The company pioneered many fundamental metrology instruments including Wheatstone bridges, potentiometers, galvanometers, and precision current shunts widely used in calibration laboratories and industrial process control throughout the 20th century.

Leeds & Northrup equipment became a standard reference in electrical standards laboratories, power utilities, and industrial process measurement. The brand was later absorbed into Honeywell's process control portfolio, though legacy precision instruments continue to circulate in calibration and secondary standards environments.

Key Product Lines

• Precision Current Shunts — high-accuracy shunts for current measurement and calibration standards
• Potentiometers and Bridges — classical precision resistance measurement instruments for electrical metrology
• Calibration Instruments — reference standards for electrical and temperature metrology

Industries Served

Leeds & Northrup instruments are found in calibration laboratories, power generation and utilities, industrial process control, and metrology standards facilities. Their precision shunts and resistance bridges remain in use as secondary reference standards in metrological organizations.