The Top 100 - Most Influental Figures in American History - The Atlantic Monthly published its list in December 2006; 17 were in world of business: 5) - Alexander Hamilton, 9) - Thomas Edison, 11) - John D. Rockefeller, 14) - Henry Ford, 20) - Andrew Carnegie, 24) - Alexander Graham Bell, 26) - Walt Disney, 27) - Eli Whitney, 37) - J. P. Morgan, 45) - Samuel F. B. Morse, 54) - Bill Gates, 67) - P. T. Barnum, 72) - Sam Walton, 73) - Cyrus McCormick, 80) - William Randolph Hearst, 94) - George Eastman, 95) - Sam Goldwyn.

Aircraft. Seishi Kimura (2007). The Challenges of Late Industrialization: The Global Economy and the Japanese Commercial Aircraft Industry. (New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan, 240 p.). Associate Professor of International Business (Fukushima University, Japan). Competition, International; Barriers to entry (Industrial organization); Aircraft supplies industry--Japan--Case studies; Aircraft industry--Japan--Case studies. Author identifies underlying factors for latecomer firms to catch up as system integrators or to upgrade as suppliers in fast-globalizing industries. Several perspectives on firm growth, from resource-based view to global value chains, are integrated into comprehensive framework; illustrates how/why post-war Japanese commercial aircraft firms have upgraded yet failed to catch up; draws lessons for current latecomers. Buy Now!!

Automotive. (Toyota), Dan Coffey (2007). The Myth of Japanese Efficiency: The World Car Industry in a Globalizing Age. (Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar, 202 p.). Lecturer in Microeconomics (University of Leeds). Toyota Jido¯sha Kabushiki Kaisha; Automobile industry and trade--Japan--Management; Automobile industry and trade--Production control--Japan. Form and meaning of `production fantasy'. Author argues that the `lean and flexible' production model popularly associated with Toyota MC is a myth, sheds light on cultural responses to stresses of globalization; provides individual studies of process flexibility, labor productivity, re-organization of work in global car industry; widely evaluates Japanese impacts on global economy, resurgent Western capitalism; proposes fundamental re-assessment of popular accounts of Japan's manufacturing success: 1) fictionalization of history, 2) propagation of questionable empirical conclusions, 3) observations on wider impact of `lean and flexible' approach. Buy Now!!

Beverages. (Tea Trade), Beatrice Hohenegger (2006). Liquid Jade: The Story of Tea from East to West. (New York, NY: St. Martin’s Press, 320 p.). Guest Curator of a Traveling Museum Exhibition on the History and Culture of Tea. Tea--History; Tea--Social aspects; Tea trade--History. Author explores tea in all its social and cultural aspects; tells story of western greed and eastern bliss: 1) China first used tea as a remedy. Taoists celebrated tea as the elixir of immortality. Buddhist Japan developed a whole body of practices around tea as a spiritual path; 2) traumatic encounter of refined Eastern cultures with first Western merchants, trade wars, emergence of ubiquitous English East India Company; Scottish spies crisscrossed China to steal secrets of tea production; army of smugglers made fortunes with tea deliveries; in name of "free trade" English imported opium to China in exchange for tea; exploding tea industry in eighteenth century reinforced practice of slavery in sugar plantations; one reason why tea became popular is that it helped sober up the English; 19th century massive consumption of tea in England also led to development of  large tea plantation system in colonial India  (success for British Empire tea, untold misery for generations of tea workers; 3) tea’s beauty and delights - myths about beginnings of tea,  lovers’ legend in familiar blue-and-white porcelain willow pattern, rich and varied selection of works of art , historical photographs (rare, comprehensive visual tea record); includes engaging and lesser-known topics. Buy Now!!

Broadcasting. James L. Baughman (2007). Same Time, Same Station: Creating American Television, 1948--1961. (Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 460 p.). Professor, Director of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication (University of Wisconsin--Madison). Television broadcasting--United States--History. Commercial success over cultural aspiration; battle of ideas in early 1950s which determined future of television

Business Services. (UPS), Greg Niemann (2007). Big Brown: The Untold Story of UPS. (San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 272 p.). Retired UPS Driver and Publications Editor. United Parcel Service; Express service--United States. Rags-to-riches story of reclusive UPS founder Jim Casey and the world's largest package delivery company (100th anniversary in 2007). How small messenger service became a business giant. Author reveals remarkable 100-year history of UPS, life of its founder Jim Casey—one of the greatest unknown capitalists of the twentieth century. Casey pursued Spartan business philosophy - emphasized military discipline, drab uniforms, reliability over flash, traditional management style, strict policies coupled with high employee loyalty, strong labor relations; from its historical "anti-marketing" bias (why brown?) to its sterling brand loyalty and reputation for quality. Buy Now!!

Conglomerates. (GE), William E. Rothschild (2007). The Secret to GE’s Success. (New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 293 p.). General Electric Company--History; General Electric Company--Management; Electric industries--United States--Management--Case studies. Author explains five keys that made GE a global phenomenon; gives managers a complete toolkit for duplicating its remarkable success; explains GE Code (hallmark of all GE leadership teams); provides far-ranging prescriptive plan for strategizing the GE way. Buy Now!!

(Koch Industries), Charles G. Koch (2007). The Science of Success: How Market Based Management Built the World's Largest Private Company. (San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 208 p.). Chairman of the Board and CEO of Koch Industries, Inc. Organizational change; Industrial management; Organizational behavior. World's largest privately held company (refining and chemicals, fibers and polymers, commodity and financial trading, forest and consumer products) - 2,000-fold growth since 1967 ( 80,000 employees in 60 countries, $90 billion in revenues in 2006); Market-Based Management - rooted in the Science of Human Action; nurtures personal qualities of humility, integrity that build trust and confidence to enhance future success through learning from failure; culture of thinking in terms of opportunity cost, comparative advantage for all employees; defined by five dimensions: 1) Vision—Determining where and how the organization can create the greatest long-term value; 2) Virtue and Talents—Helping ensure that people with the right values, skills and capabilities are hired, retained and developed; 3) Knowledge Processes—Creating, acquiring, sharing and applying relevant knowledge, and measuring and tracking profitability; 4) Decision Rights—Ensuring the right people are in the right roles with the right authority to make decisions and holding them accountable; 5) Incentives—Rewarding people according to the value they create for the organization. Continuous transformation and positive growth. Buy Now!!

Hospitality. (Loews Hotels), Jonathan Tisch (2007). Chocolates on the Pillow Aren't Enough: Reinventing the Customer Experience to Win Lifelong Loyalty. (Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 256 p.). CEO of Loews Hotels. Hospitality industry--Customer services; Hotel.; Customer relations. Author shows how lessons he’s learned in the hospitality industry have now become important for every leader; creating intimate, positive, long-lasting connection with customer is what the world’s great hoteliers do best = key to twenty-first-century success for every kind of organization; companies that provide meaningful customer experiences consistently are ones that will enjoy unbeatable competitive advantage. Examples: In-N-Out Burger, Commerce Bank,  Target; treating customers like guests, no matter what the product or service, is way to get ahead. Buy Now!!

Oil. Lisa Margonelli (2007). Oil on the Brain: Adventures from the Pump to the Pipeline. (New York, NY: Nan A. Talese/ Doubleday, 336 p.). Irvine Fellow at the New America Foundation. Petroleum industry and trade. Where gasoline comes from. One-hundred thousand mile journey up the oil delivery chain - from local gas station to oil fields half a world away; complicated and often tenuous process. 2003 - author spent time at independent gas stations; observed owners might clear pennies per gallon of gas, survive on impulse sales of junk food and soda; spent days with tanker truck driver, suppliers; toured refineries; witnessed lonely workers on a Texas oil rig; visited "wildcatters" in Texas, Strategic Petroleum Reserve in Gulf of Mexico, oil pit at the New York Mercantile Exchange (oil analyst who almost gave birth); reports on vast petroleum network; traveled to Venezuela, Chad (villagers said to wander oil fields in guise of lions), Nigeria (warlord who changed world price of oil with single cell phone call), Persian Gulf (Salmon oil fields in Iran), Shanghai bureaucrats who dream of creating a new Detroit. Buy Now!!

Retail - Specialty. Amy Stewart (2007). Flower Confidential: The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful in the Business of Flowers. (Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin Books, 320 p.). Winner of 2005 California Horticultural Society's Writer's Award. Cut flower industry--United States--History; Cut flower industry--History. $6.2 billion spent annually on cut flowers. Author goes inside the flower trade: 1) hybridizers (create new varieties in the laboratory), 2)  growers (produce flowers by the millions often in a factory-like setting), 3) Dutch auctioneers (set the bar and the price), 4) neighborhood florists (orchestrate mind-boggling demands of Valentine’s and Mother’s Day); explores relevance of flowers in lives, in history; reveals all that has been gained—and lost—by tinkering with nature. Buy Now!!

Telecommunications. (Grameen Phone Ltd.), Nicholas P. Sullivan (2007). You Can Hear Me Now: Connecting the World’s Poor to the Global Economy. (San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 272 p.). Publisher of the journal Innovations: Technology/Governance/Globalization (MIT Press), Partner in the Global Horizon Fund.  Grameen Phone Ltd.; Cellular telephone services industry--Developing countries.; Information technology--Developing countries; Telecommunication--Developing countries. Iqbal Quadir, visionary, catalyst behind creation of GrameenPhone in Bangladesh.  Partnership between Norway’s Telenor and Grameen Bank. Bangladeshi villagers, sharing cell phones, helped build thriving company with more than $200 million in annual profits. Lesson for rest of world? "external combustion engine" (comprises three forces) - 1) information technology, imported by 2) native entrepreneurs trained in the West, backed by 3) foreign investors. Buy Now!!

Textiles. Jacqueline Field, Marjorie Senechal, Madelyn Shaw (2007). American Silk, 1830-1930: Entrepreneurs and Artifacts. (Lubbock, TX: Texas Tech University Press. Former Costume Curator, Professor of Textiles and Design (Westbrook College); Professor of Mathematics and History of Science and Technology (Smith College); Curator of the Costume and Textile Collection at the Rhode Island School of Design Museum. Silk industry--United States--History--19th century. Authors trace the American silk industry, once the world’s largest, through case studies of the Nonotuck (Northampton, Massachusetts), Haskell (Westbrook, Maine), and Mallinson (New York and Pennsylvania) silk companies; examine entrepreneurs, history of technology/products from sewing-machine thread to mass-produced plain and high-fashion silks. Buy Now!!

Tobacco. Allan Brandt (2007). The Cigarette Century: The Rise, Fall and Deadly Persistence of the Product That Defined America. (New York, NY: Basic Books, 672 p.). Amalie Moses Kass Professor of the History of Medicine (Harvard Medical School), Professor in the Department of the History of Science (Harvard University). Tobacco industry--United States--History--20th century; Smoking--United States--History--20th century; Smoking--Health aspects. How one humble (largely useless) product came to play such dominant role in our lives and deaths. Definitive history of the cigarette, product that shaped twentieth-century America--from modern advertising to science, from regulatory politics to glamour and style; industrial manufacture of cigarettes began in late nineteenth century; really took off at the turn of the century with invention of modern consumer, advertising campaign; became indispensable accessory of glamour, sex appeal (Marlene Dietrich to Humphrey Bogart to Anne Bancroft); author explores critical aspects of American life; shows how smoking came to be so deeply implicated in our culture, science, policy, law; demonstrates how cigarette reflects most powerful debates of our time about risk, responsibility, human health. Buy Now!!

Wall Street - Trading History. Ranald C. Michie (2007). The Global Securities Market: A History. (Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 399 p.). Department of History (University of Durham). Securities industry -- History; Securities -- History. Securities markets from its beginnings in Medieval Venice through Amsterdam, London to its operations in Tokyo, New York today. Buy Now!!

MANAGEMENT (click on management theme  - in red - to go to management page)

Education & Learning. Alan P. Rudy, Dawn Coppin, Jason Konefal, Bradley T. Shaw, Toby A. Ten Eyck, Craig Harris and Lawrence Busch (2007). Universities in the Age of Corporate Science: The UC Berkeley-Novartis controversy. (Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press, 256 p.). University of California, Berkeley; Novartis Agricultural Discovery Institute, Inc.; Business and education--United States; Education, Higher--Economic aspects--United States. Inside story of partnership ($25 million contract) between Plant and Microbial Biology Department at University of California, Berkeley, and Novartis Agricultural Discovery Institute (subsidiary of Novartis, international pharmaceutical, agribusiness conglomerate). Buy Now!!

Management History. Phil Rosenzweig (2007). The Halo Effect and Other Business Delusions: Why the Experts Are So Often Wrong--and How To Get It Right. (New York, NY: Free Press, 256 p.). Professor at IMD (International Institute for Management Development, Lausanne, Switzerland). Industrial management--Philosophy; Business enterprises--Public opinion; Fallacies (Logic); Success in business. Clearer understanding of what drives business success and failure. Author unmasks delusions commonly found in the corporate world (rigorous thinking vs. storytelling); most pervasive delusion is Halo Effect - company performance creates Halo that shapes perception of strategy, leadership, people, culture, more (when company's sales, profits are up, people often conclude it has brilliant strategy, visionary leader, capable employees, superb corporate culture; when performance falters, they conclude strategy was wrong, leader became arrogant, people were complacent, culture was stagnant); shows how Halo Effect is widespread, undermines usefulness of business bestsellers from In Search of Excellence to Built to Last and Good to Great; identifies 9 popular business delusions: 9 popular business delusions: 1) Halo Effect; 2) Correlation and Causality; 3) Single Explanations;  4)  Connecting the Dots; 5) Rigorous Research; 6) Lasting Success; 7) Absolute Performance; 8) Wrong End of the Stick; 9) Organizational Physics. Buy Now!!

Organizational Behavior. Robert I. Sutton (2007). The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn’t. (New York, NY: Warner Business, 224 p.). Professor of Management Science and Engineering (Stanford Engineering School),. Organizational behavior; Bullying in the workplace; Psychological abuse; Courtesy; Work environment. Author reveals huge TCA (Total Cost of Assholes) in today's corporations; shows how to spot an asshole (rude interruptions, subtle putdowns, "sarcastic jokes", "teasing" as "insult delivery systems"); provides "self-test" to determine whether you deserve to be branded as a "certified asshole"; offers tips to keep your "inner jerk" from dominating; shows how managers can eliminate mean-spirited, unproductive behavior (positively channel some of virtues of assholes) to generate an asshole free (productive) workplace; analyzes how Google's "don't be evil" maxim helped launch company to unprecedented early growth, how JetBlue, Southwest Airlines "fire" passengers who demean their employees, how "belligerent" e-mail from Cerner Corporation CEO, Neal Patterson, made company's stock plunge 22% in three days (how his graceful apology helped stock rebound). Buy Now!!

BUSINESS HISTORY (click on business history theme - in red - to go to that page)

Business Growth & Influence. Eds. Michael E. Kraft, Sheldon Kamieniecki (2007). Business and Environmental Policy: Corporate Interests in the American Political System. (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 376 p.). Professor of Political Science and Public Policy and Herbert Fisk Johnson Professor of Environmental Studies (University of Wisconsin-Green Bay); Dean of the Division of Social Sciences (University of California, Santa Cruz). Corporations--Political aspects--United States; Business and politics--United States; Legislation--United States; Corporate power--United States; Environmental policy--United States; Industrial management--Environmental aspects--United States. Authors examine extent to which business succeeds in its policy interventions; systematically analyze corporate influence at all stages of policy process, focus on factors that determine success or failure of business lobbying in Congress, state legislatures, local governments, federal and state agencies, courts; consider whether business influence is effectively counterbalanced by efforts of environmental groups, public opinion, and other forces; examine use of media to influence public opinion (battle over drilling in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge), corporations’ efforts to sway elections by making campaign contributions; provide broad-based empirical evidence of corporate influence on environmental policy. Buy Now!!

Crises - Financial. (U.S.), William L. Silber (2007). When Washington Shut Down Wall Street: The Great Financial Crisis of 1914 and the Origins of America’s Monetary Supremacy. (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 232 p.). Marcus Nadler Professor of Finance and Economics at the Stern School of Business (New York University). McAdoo, William Gibbs, 1863-1941; Currency crises--United States--Case studies; Currency question; World War, 1914-1918--Finance; Gold standard. Author traces Treasury Secretary William Gibbs McAdoo's triumph over monetary crisis at outbreak of World War I that threatened United States with financial disaster; biggest gold outflow in a generation imperiled America's ability to repay its debts abroad. Fear that the United States would abandon the gold standard sent the dollar plummeting on world markets. 1914 - no central bank; McAdoo shut New York Stock Exchange for more than four months to prevent Europeans from selling their American securities and demanding gold in return; smothered country with emergency currency to prevent a replay of bank runs that swept America in 1907; launched United States as world monetary power by honoring America's commitment to gold standard.  Buy Now!!

Economics. Diane Coyle (2007). A Soulful Science: What Economists Really Do and Why It Matters. (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 288 p.). Visiting Professor (University of Manchester), Former Economics Editor (Independent). Economics--Psychological aspects; Economics--Sociological aspects. Author describes remarkable creative renaissance in how economics is addressing most fundamental questions, how it is starting to help solve problems (poverty, global warming); uncovers hidden humanization of economics over the past two decades; shows how better data, increased computing power, techniques (game theory) have transformed economic theory and practice in recent years, enabled economists to make huge strides in understanding real human behavior; economists are: 1) revolutionizing efforts to solve world's most serious problems, 2) giving policymakers new, more accurate picture of human society than ever before, 3) building  capacity to understand how what we do today (resource auctions, pollution-credit trading, monetary policy) shapes what the world will look like tomorrow (consequences for human life, governments, businesses). Buy Now!!

Bill McKibben (2007). Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future. (New York, NY: Times Books, 262 p.). Former Staff Writer for The New Yorker, Scholar in Residence at Middlebury College. Economic development--Social aspects; Community development. Ways that growth economics have led us astray, "more" is no longer synonymous with "better", need to move beyond "growth" as paramount economic ideal, pursue prosperity in more local direction; puts forward new way to think about things we buy, food we eat, energy we use, money that pays for it all; advises pursuing prosperity in more local direction (cities, suburbs, regions producing more of their own food, generating more of their own energy, creating more of their own culture and entertainment); shows this concept blossoming around world with striking results (burgeoning economies of India and China to more mature societies of Europe and New England); offers route out of worst environmental threats; provides insight to think about one’s life as an individual, as member of larger community. Buy Now!!

Economics - Consumption. Eds. John Styles, Amanda Vickery (2007). Gender, Taste, and Material Culture in Britain and North America, 1700-1830. (New Haven, CT: Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art / The Yale Center for British Art / Yale University Press, 368 p.). Research Professor in History (University of Hertfordshire); Reader in the History of Women and Gender at Royal Holloway (University of London). Material culture. 1700 - 1830 - men and women in Britain, North America gained unprecedented access to material things; British Atlantic was an empire of goods, held together by political authority, common language, shared material culture nourished by constant flows of commodities - exotic luxuries of mercantile and colonial expansion (tea and sugar); novel home furnished (clocks, earthenware teapots); Authors compare developments in Britain and North America; consider basic questions about women, men, objects in these regions; show profound significance of everyday objects in eighteenth-century Atlantic world. Buy Now!!

Benjamin R. Barber (2007). Con$umed: How Markets Corrupt Children, Infantilize Adults, and Swallow Citizens Whole. (New York, NY: Norton, 320 p.). Gershon and Carol Kekst Professor of Civil Society and Distinguished University Professor (University of Maryland). Consumption (Economics)--United States; Consumer behavior--United States; Child consumers--United States; Capitalism--United States; Materialism--United States--Social aspects; Mass society; United States--Social conditions--1980-. How adult consumers are infantilized in global economy that overproduces goods, targets children as consumers in market where there are never enough shoppers. Driven by a frantic imperative to sell, consumer capitalism specializes today in manufacture of needs (not goods); shows how infantilist ethos deprives society of responsible citizens, displaces public goods with private commodities; traditional liberal democratic society is colonized by all-pervasive market imperative; public space is privatized, identity is branded, world homogenized; how citizens can resist, transcend civic schizophrenia with which consumerism has infected them. Buy Now!!

Scandals & Fraud. Ed. Steven Hiatt; introduction by John Perkins (2007). A Game as Old as Empire: The Secret World of Economic Hit Men and the Web of Global Corruption. (San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 250 p.). International business enterprises--Corrupt practices; Political corruption; Structural adjustment (Economic policy); Dependency; Globalization--Social aspects. Author reveals how 'Economic Hit Men' game has functioned, continues to function, in many countries around world; shows how various pieces of system come together to create  world’s first truly global empire; offers call to action, explains what ordinary citizens can do to confront, unravel this destructive network of control. shows how First Word countries have used "economic hit men" (World Bank, IMF, coercion, strong-arm tactics) to steal from developing countries - often in collusion with the elites of those countries who are happy to hide their ill-gotten gains in offshore accounts. Buy Now!!

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Exhibits/Conferences

MODERNISM IN AMERICAN SILVER: 20TH-CENTURY DESIGN                            (November 10, 2006 through March 25, 2007)                                                                      The Wolfsonian–Florida International University Museum, Miami Beach, FL                   http://www.wolfsonian.org/exhibitions/current/silver.main.html

This exhibition focuses on the advent of modern design in the American silver industry between 1925 and 2000, a period that witnessed the transformation of American life and with it, the traditional role of silverware.

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Anniversaries - 2007

Fortnum and Mason - 300th Anniversary:  1707 - William Fortnum, former footman in Queen Anne's household,  joined Grocer Hugh Mason in new grocer’s shop in Piccadilly; prospered in Georgian era (1705 - Mason ran small shop in St James’s Market; Fortnum rented room from Mason); 1846 - Richard Fortnum bequeathed 1,500 pounds (about 500,00 pounds today) to staff; March 2, 1863 - appointed Grocers to HRH the Prince of Wales; April 1, 1867 - appointed oilmen to their Royal Highnesses Prince and Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein; October 5, 1867 - appointed furnishers to the Establishment of HRH the Crown Princess of Prussia, Princess Royal of Great Britain and Ireland; December 12, 1867 - appointed confectioners and Foreign Warehousemen to HRH the Princess of Wales; 1886 - Henry Heinz carried five cases of baked bean samples from the United States, F & M took them all, introduced baked beans to Britain for the first time; June 8, 1887 - appointed foreign Warehousemen to HRH the Prince of Wales; July 16, 1887 - appointed purveyors of Oilery to HM the Queen; 1925 - introduced Ladies’ fashions, children’s clothes, kitchenware, perfumes during Jazz Age; 1964 - Fortnum’s clock, with bells from the same foundry as Big Ben, added to front of store1998 - launched online store with 50 hampers; 2004 - Fortnum & Mason Japan opened.

John Wiley & Sons - 200th Anniversary: 1807 - Charles Wiley (25) opened printing shop in lower Manhattan; 1809 - formed printing, publishing, bookselling partnership with Cornelius Van Winkle, a noted printer; 1812 -  "C. Wiley, Printer" appeared for first time on title pages of several legal works; 1820 - focused on publishing and bookselling; 1826 - son John (18) took over at his death; 1836 - hired George Putnam as a junior partner; 1875 - company adopted current name, John Wiley & Sons; January 16, 1904 - family business incorporated, with William H. Wiley as President, Charles Wiley as Vice President, and William O. Wiley as Secretary.

Boston Lying-In Hospital - 175th Anniversary: 1832 - Local physicians, including obstetrician Walter Channing (Harvard's first professor of obstetrics in 1815) founded Boston Lying-In Hospital, one of nation’s first maternity hospitals; opened doors to women unable to afford in-home medical care; 1847 - anesthesia administered in childbirth for first time; 1875 - Free Hospital for Women founded "for poor women affected with diseases peculiar to their sex or in need of surgical aid"; each of five beds sponsored by different charitable group; 1911 - Peter Bent Brigham Hospital established "for the care of sick persons in indigent circumstances" with bequest from restaurateur and real estate baron Peter Bent Brigham; 1914 - Robert Breck Brigham Hospital, founded with bequest from Peter Bent Brigham’s nephew, opened to serve patients with arthritis, other debilitating joint diseases; 1966 - Boston Hospital for Women established through merger of Boston Lying-In Hospital and Free Hospital for Women; 1974 - Boston Hospital for Women, Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, Robert Breck Brigham Hospital affiliated; 1980 - Brigham and Women’s Hospital opened; 1986 to 1990 - acknowledged as having received more citations in scientific papers than any other hospital in world; 1994 - joined Massachusetts General Hospital, formed Partners HealthCare System.

Erie Railroad - 175th Anniversary: April 24, 1832 - New York State legislature chartered New York and Erie Rail Road; required that railroad: 1) not connect with any out-of-state road (connected Hudson River at Piermont, north of New York City, to Lake Erie at Dunkirk); 2) raise $10 million, 3) not formally organize until half its stock was subscribed to; May 19, 1851 - full length to Dunkirk opened; built as 6 foot wide gauge; August 1859 - company went into receivership due to large construction costs; first bankruptcy of a major trunk line in the U.S.; June 25, 1861 - reorganized as Erie Railway; 1867 - Jay Gould (31) became a director of the Erie RR; waged "Erie War" with Cornelius Vanderbilt for control; issued illegal stock, bribed state legislators, manipulated stock in his own interest and that of his group; 1868 - became president (expelled in 1872); 1874 - reorganized, became New York, Lake Erie & Western Railroad; June 22, 1880 - entire system converted to standard gauge; 1893 - went into bankruptcy reorganization, emerged as Erie Railroad; January 18, 1938 - entered bankruptcy; October 17, 1960 - merged with Delaware, Lackawanna & Western, formed Erie-Lackawanna.

Jardine, Matheson - 175th Anniversary: July 1, 1832 - Former East India Company merchant ship's surgeon William Jardine (48) and Scottish-born aristocratic junior partner James Matheson (36) formally registered Jardine, Matheson & Company in Canton, China as trading services (agency) house involved in trading, banking, shipping, insurance, cotton, mines, railways; largest of private traders ('risk-brokers') in Canton trading district; offered "agency services" (banker, bill broker, ship owner, freighter, insurance agent, purveyor); 1832 - four products traded: 1)and 2) tea and silk from China (sold to Great Britain and India, 3) cotton textiles from Great Britain and Europe (sold to China), 4) opium from India (sold to China); 1834 - sent first private shipments of tea to England (East India Company lost monopoly on trade with China); 1836 - promoted founding of Hong Kong; 1844 - first trading firm to buy land in Hong Kong, move headquarters there; 1870 - focused on Japan; 1876 - set up first railroad in China from Shanghai to Woosung; 1885 - primarily interested in railway contracts; 1898 - jointly created British and Chinese Corporation with  Hongkong Shanghai Banking Corporation, linked Yangtze River to interior by rail to facilitate transport of goods; helped establish The Star Ferry Company; 1885 - established Matheson & Co. (investment division) became investment manager, financier; 1908 - Matheson & Co. incorporated; 1979 - one of first companies to re-establish relations with China, opened representative office in Beijing.

The Atlantic - 150th Anniversary: November 1857 - Moses Dresser Phillips published first issue of The Atlantic, new journal of American politics, art and literature; featured poems by Emerson, Longfellow, John Greenleaf Whittier and James Russell Lowell (magazine's first editor).

Banco Santander Central Hispano - 150th Anniversary: May 15, 1857 - Emilio Botín y Lopez founded Banco Santander in city of Santander, in Spain's Cantabria region, to finance trade with Latin America; one branch, 13 employees, 72 shareholders; January 14, 1875 - incorporated; 1925 - opened his first office outside the region, in Osorno (Palencia); 1986 - 6th largest bank in Spain (assets); initiated customer-friendly retail banking strategy, acquired more than 30 banks from Bilbao to Brazil (estimated more than $40 billion in acquisitions, nearly $13 billion in Latin America); 1994 - paid $2 billion for 60% stake in Banesto, well-known retail bank; 1999 - became number one in Spain with $9.6 billion acquisition of Banco Centro Hispano; November 20, 2000 - took 33% stake in do Estado de São Paulo (Banespa), seventh-largest bank in Brazil, for $3.555 billion (five times book value, 281% premium above estimated minimum economic value of $945 million); September 2004 - acquired British mortgage lender Abbey National, UK's sixth largest bank, for approximately $15 billion, created Europe's fourth-largest bank in terms of market capitalization; largest cross-border banking acquisition ever in EU; December 31, 2005 - 9th largest bank in world.

Birmingham Post - 150th Anniversary: 1857 - John Frederick Feeney and John Jaffray founded the Birmingham Daily Post in Birmingham, England as a Monday to Friday Paper of four pages, priced at one penny; 1870 - John Feeney (son) started evening offshoot of the "Daily Post", the "Daily Mail"; 1894 - became operator of the "Post" and the "Mail" (retirement of Sir John Jaffray); largest selling broadsheet in the West Midlands region; first to introduce Linotype machines, and the first to have a London office linked by private wire to its headquarters; 1991 - acquired in management buy-out, Midland Independent Newspapers (MIN) formed; November 1997 - Mirror Group acquired MIN for 305 million pounds; September 1999 - Mirror Group merged with Trinity plc (founded 1985) to become biggest newspaper publisher in the UK (240 regional papers, 5 national titles, 4 sports newspapers).

Buena Vista Winery - 150th Anniversary: 1857 - Count Agoston Haraszthy (45), first Sheriff of San Diego County, founder of a city in Wisconsin (Sauk City), ferryboat owner and member of the Hungarian Royal Guard, founded Buena Vista Winery in Sonoma, CA; planted some of the state’s first European varietals (Tokay, Zinfandel, and Shiras grape varieties); 1906 - earthquake destroyed its underground cellars; 1940 - Frank Bartholomew, former head of AP, acquired 500 acres of Sonoma land without knowing an abandoned winery came with the property; with help of Andre Tchelistcheff, considered America's most influential post-Prohibition winemaker, restored Buena Vista's vineyards, caves and winery to its original grandeur; 1981 - acquired by Moller-Racke family of Germany; 2001 - acquired by Allied-Domecq; California’s oldest premium winery.

The McClatchy Company - 150th Anniversary: February 3, 1857 - James McClatchy published first issue of The Daily Bee in Sacramento, CA: "The name of The Bee has been adopted as being different from that of any other paper in the state and as also being emblematic of the industry which is to prevail in its every department"; 1883 - Valentine Stuart and Charles Kenny (sons) bought out last remaining co-owner of newspaper after their father's death; September 1, 1923 - After nearly 40 years of running the company as equals, brothers agreed to bid privately against each other for sole control of company; C.K. submitted higher bid, took over; 1979 - acquired first out-of-state newspapers; 1989 - Erwin Potts became first non-family member to head company; 1999 - revenues exceed $1 billion for the first time; 2004 - 20th consecutive year of daily circulation growth, record unmatched in U.S. newspaper industry; March 13, 2006 - McClatchy Company announced agreement to purchase Knight Ridder, United States' second largest chain of daily newspapers for $4.5 billion in cash and stock; gave McClatchy 32 daily newspapers in 29 markets, total circulation of 3.3 million.

Northwestern Mutual - 150th Anniversary: March 2, 1857 - Wisconsin Legislature passed bill incorporating the Mutual Life Insurance Company of Wisconsin, headquartered in Janesville, WI; founded by John C. Johnston (75), former successful insurance agency operator for Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York; November 25, 1858 - company named John C. Johnston first general agent, issued him its first policy, paid in full, for $5,000 coverage.; March 7, 1859 - company moved to Milwaukee; March 11, 1859 - Johnston terminated  association with company as an agent; 1860 - company insurance in-force 25th in nation (among 40 competitors); 1865 - name changed to The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company to reflect expansion beyond Wisconsin; 1866 - assets $1 million; 1868 - formally adopted emblem (seal surrounds Banyan tree, an Indonesian fig with an unusual growth habit); 1870 - eighth in company insurance in-force (among 100-plus);  1907 - established Examining Committee of Policyholders to make unrestricted report on company’s operations; 1920 - $2.2 billion in insurance in-force; 1933 - introduced Single Premium Annuities, first product line other than life insurance; 1934 - started advertising in national magazines; 1941 - assets of $1.4 billion; 1970 - $19 billion insurance in-force, assets top $6 billion; paid in benefits or held in reserve $1.30 for every dollar received in premiums; 1972 - launched "The Quiet Company" television advertising campaign during Munich Olympic Games; 1984 - life insurance in-force passed $100 billion mark; 1989 - life insurance in-force passed $200 billion mark; 1995 - sixth largest U.S. life insurer, assets of $54.9 billion; 1996 - new premium sales exceeded $1 billion (No. 1 provider of ordinary life insurance in the U.S.); 2000 - changed name to Northwestern Mutual; 2005 - 22nd time as "America's Most Admired Company" in Fortune's life/health insurance company field; named to Fortune's Hall of Fame.

Chubb Corporation - 125th Anniversary: Spring 1882 - Thomas Caldecot Chubb and his son, Percy, collected $1,000 from each of 100 prominent merchants, opened marine underwriting business in seaport district of New York City; focused on insuring ships and cargoes; 1967 - Chubb Corporation formed; 1984 - listed on the New York Stock Exchange; ranks among the top 10 publicly traded insurance organizations based on revenues in the United States; 2006 - approximately 11,800 employees throughout North America, Europe, South America, Pacific Rim; serves property and casualty customers from some 120 offices in 29 countries around the globe; works with 8,000 independent agents and brokers worldwide. 

Dow Jones - 125th Anniversary: November, 1882 - Former Providence Journal reporter Charles H. Dow (31), Edward Davis Jones (26) and former Drexel, Morgan employee, Charles Milford Bergstresser founded Dow, Jones & Company (as it was called in the beginning) in a small basement office at 15 Wall Street in New York; produced daily hand-written news bulletins called "flimsies" delivered by messenger to subscribers in the Wall Street area; 1884 - Dow Jones Averages the creation of Charles Dow, appeared for the first time in the "Customers' Afternoon Letter"; contained 11 stocks: nine railroads and two industrials; 1896 - Dow Jones Industrial Average launched.

Jergens - 125th Anniversary: 1882 - Andrew Jergens Sr. and Charles H. Geilfus founded The Jergens Soap Company in Cincinnati, OH; original product coconut oil soap; 1894 - renamed Andrew Jergens & Co.; 1901 - incorporated as the Andrew Jergens Co.; acquired John H. Woodbury Company ("Woodbury Facial Soap"); acquired Robert Eastman Company, maker of creams and lotions; most superior formula eventually became original Jergens Lotion, soon to become the number one selling hand lotion in America; 1970 - acquired by American Brands for $100 million; 1988 - acquired by Kao Corporation (Japan); September 2002 - Jergens Company expanded into hair care, acquired John Frieda Professional Hair Care businesses.

Matson Navigation Company - 125th Anniversary: 1882 - Captain William Matson borrowed from California sugar magnate, Claus Spreckels, bought shares in three-masted schooner, named it Emma Claudine (Spreckels's sister); sailed it from San Francisco to Hilo, HI; carried 300 tons of food, plantation supplies, general merchandise; launched company primarily involved in carrying freight between the Pacific Coast and Hawaii; built near-monopoly as trade in Hawaiian sugar boomed; first Matson steamship, Enterprise, first offshore ship in Pacific to burn oil instead of coal; 1901 - Matson Navigation Company incorporated in Hawaii; 1908 -Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. invested $200,000, acquired minority interest in company; 1917 - fleet comprised 14 of largest, fastest, most modern ships in Pacific passenger-freight service; 1941 - passenger liners completed wartime total of 119 voyages, covered 1 1/2 million miles, carried total of 736,000 troops; 1959 -Waikiki hotels sold to Sheraton Corporation; April 1960 - first all-container carrier in Pacific service (capacity for 436 24-foot containers); 1969 - became wholly owned subsidiary of Alexander & Baldwin, Inc.

Milwaukee Journal - 125th Anniversary: November 16, 1882 - Daily Journal of Milwaukee began publishing; December 12, 1882 - Lucius W. Nieman (24) acquired 22-day old paper; 1891 - became first newspaper to use "run-of-paper" color when it printed red and blue stripes across Page One for governor's inauguration; 1937: created employee-ownership plan; employees bought 30,000 shares (25% interest in company); Agnes Wahl Nieman bequeathed small block of stock ($1 million) to Harvard University in memory of her husband with mandate: earnings from gift were to be used for a single purpose: "To promote and elevate the standards of journalism in the United States and educate persons deemed specially qualified for journalism" (1938 - Nieman Fellowship Program created, oldest and best-known mid-career program for journalists in the world); 1962 - acquired Milwaukee Sentinel from Hearst; 1995 - Milwaukee Journal and Sentinel merged; April 2, 1995 - Journal Sentinel first published.

Standard Oil - 125th Anniversary: January 2, 1882 - John D. Rockefeller officially united Standard Oil Company with its various producing, refining, marketing affiliates; formed  Standard Oil Trust, nation's first sanctioned monopoly; $70 million trust controled 14,000 miles of underground pipeline, all oil cars of Pennsylvania Railroad; (eventually acquired 90 percent of the world's oil refining capacity. Under the terms of the Standard Oil Trust Agreement, brokered by Rockefeller and eight other trustees, the oil giant could be acquired, sold, combined, divided as necessary; August 1, 1882 - Standard Oil of New York incorporated; August 5, 1882 - Standard Oil Company of New Jersey established; 1892 - Ohio Supreme Court ruled in favor of splitting Standard Oil's monopoly (Rockefeller maintained company's choke-hold on industry; shifted its holdings to companies located in other states; 1899 - Rockefeller formally reunited these companies under New Jersey-based Standard Oil Company; 1890 - Sherman Antitrust Act passed; 1911 - U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Standard Oil was illegal under terms of the Sherman Act; forced company to shed primary holdings.

George Weston - 125th Anniversary: 1882 - George Weston (18), Toronto baker's apprentice, acquired bread route from his employer for $200; 1896 - established "Weston's Model Bakery"; eventually expanded to Montreal. Winnipeg; 1910 - merged with other major Toronto bakers, formed Canada Bread Company for $1 million Canadian; signed 10-year non-compete agreement; 1921 - reentered bread business with purchase of H.C. Tomlin bread bakery; 1928 - Garfield Weston (son) incorporated company as George Weston Limited, took it public; 1938 - facilities, resources to produce 370 varieties of candy, 100 types of biscuits; 1930s - established operations in United Kingdom; 1943 - acquired papermaker E.B. Eddy; 1944 - entered food distribution with purchase of Western Grocers; 1953 - gained majority control of Loblaw, food retailer, distributor; 1978 - Loblaw launched No Name private label (low prices, clean and simple packaging, high quality); 1984 - Loblaws introduced premium private label called President's Choice; 1986 - food processing operations consolidated within umbrella subsidiary called Weston Foods Ltd. (baking and milling, biscuits, chocolate, dairy, specialty products, providing food and ingredients both to intermediate processors and directly to consumers); 1990s - divestment, return to core competencies, reduced company to majority ownership of Loblaw and food processing businesses, focused on bakery products, cookies, milk, fish; December 1998 - Loblaws acquired Provigo for $890 million Canadian, gained number one supermarket chain in Quebec, Canada-wide retail network, dominating 40 percent nationwide market share; 1999 - sales rose 41% to $20.85 billion Canadian; 2003 sales - $29.2 billion Canadian.

Bullock's - 100th Anniversary: March 4, 1907 - John Gillespie Bullock (36) and Percy Glen Winnett opened Bullock's in Los Angeles; backed by former employer, Arthur Letts, English-born merchant whose dry goods store at Broadway and 4th Street became The Broadway Store; 1912 - erected 10-story building on Broadway; 1944 - merged with I. Magnin (twelve stores blanketing the West Coast, 1943 combined sales of $63,000,000 [three-quarters of whic is Bullock's], profits of $2,600,000); 1964 - acquired by Federated Department Stores.

Fairmont Hotel (San Francisco) - 100th Anniversary: April 18, 1907 - Grand banquet celebrated opening of The Fairmont - 600 pounds of turtle, 13,000 oysters, $5,000 worth of California and French wines. Tessie and Virginia Fair, daughters of James Graham Fair ('Bonanza Jim'), one of San Francisco's wealthiest citizens (struck it rich in Nevada Silver mining), were determined to construct grand monument to their father (passed away in 1894); 1902 - construction began on The Fairmont Hotel; 1906 - Fair sisters sold hotel to Herbert and Hartland Law; chose Julia Morgan as architect, first woman graduate of prestigious Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris who was just starting out, and would later rise to be known as the nation's preeminent female architects.

Gulf Oil - 100th Anniversary: 1907 - Andrew Mellon bought out J. M. Guffey, reorganized it as Gulf Oil Company; 1901 - J. M. Guffey organized J. M. Guffey Petroleum Company to buy out developers of first high-volume oil well in Texas, Lucas Gusher, 100-foot drilling derrick named Spindletop; first major oil discovery in the United States, marked the beginning of the American oil industry; owned 7/15 of company, William Larimer Mellon,  members of Mellon family and their associates owned remainder; Gulf Refining Company organized to refine and market the crude oil produced by Guffey Petroleum.

Hershey's "Kisses" - 100th Anniversary: 1907 - Hershey Company introduced "Kisses" milk chocolate candy; popular theory - candy named for sound or motion of chocolate being deposited during manufacturing process; August 1921 - single channel wrapper developed, flag added to product (2006 - wrapping machines wrap up to 1,300 KISSES a minute); March 6, 1923 - Hershey Foods Corporation registered "Hershey's Kisses" (solid chocolates) trademark; 1942 to 1949 - not produced due to rationing of silver foil during and after World War II; 1990 - KISSES Brand Chocolates with Almonds introduced; 2006 - 80 million KISSES Brand Chocolates made every day; 99 HERSHEY'S KISSES Brand Chocolates equals one pound of chocolate.

Neiman-Marcus - 100th Anniversary: September 10, 1907 - A. L. Neiman,, advertising agency president, Carrie Marcus Neiman (his wife) and Herbert Marcus, Sr. (her brother) founded Neiman-Marcus retail establishment in Dallas, TX; store offered women's clothing, "presenting wider varieties and more exclusive lines than any other store in the South...Only the finest productions of the best garment makers are good enough for us"; 1926 - Stanley Marcus (son) left Harvard Graduate School of Business, began long and legendary career at the store; 1928 - Marcus family acquired A.L. Neiman's interest in company; 1929 - began offering menswear (fine French ties, European shirts, other furnishings) previously available only in New York; 1934 - first retail establishment outside New York City to run national advertisements in Vogue, Harper's Bazaar magazines; 1950 - Stanley Marcus elected president and chief executive officer; 1971 - opened first store outside Texas, Bal Harbour, FL; 1988 - acquired Horchow Collection of fine furniture, linens, and decorative objects for the home.

Northwestern Pacific Railroad - 100th Anniversary: 1907 - Northwestern Pacific Railroad, the 'Redwood Empire Route', created through consolidation of six separate railroad companies held by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe and Southern Pacific railroads; 1914 - merged with Eureka & Klamath Railroad; at its zenith route extended along Pacific coast from San Francisco to California's Humboldt County, 100 miles south of the Oregon State line; 1929 - Southern Pacific bought Santa Fe's equal interest in the line, NWP became wholly-owned subsidiary; 1984 - northern half of trackage sold to Eureka Southern RR, later named North Coast RR; 1989 - California Legislature formed North Coast Rail Authority (designated North Coast Railroad) under the North Coast Railroad Authority Act to ensure continuation of railroad service in Northwestern California; 1992 - Eureka Southern went bankrupt, sold assets to NCRA; 1996 - North Coast RR and former "south end" of Southern Pacific RR became the "new" Northwestern Pacific Railroad under public ownership; 2006 - NCRA selected NWP, Inc. (led by CEO John H. Williams who had been instrumental in setting up Caltrain service on the San Francisco peninsula.) as new operator for the line.

L'Oreal - 100th Anniversary: 1907 - Eugène Schueller, French chemist, developed innovative hair-color formula; called it Auréole; formulated, manufactured his own products, sold to Parisian hairdressers; 1909 - registered company as L'Oreal (liked sound of name), "Société Française de Teintures Inoffensives pour Cheveux" ("Safe Hair Dye Company of France"); 1936 - invented the first sunscreen; March 17, 2006 - agreed to pay £652 million to acquire ethical cosmetics company, The Body Shop.

Pike Place Market - 100th Anniversary: August 17, 1907 - Seattle established Pike Place market on nine acres; eight farmers brought their wagons to corner of First Avenue and Pike Street; quickly overwhelmed by estimated 10,000 shoppers; sold out by 11:00 am;  proposed by Seattle City Councilman Thomas Revelle as public street market that would connect farmers directly with consumers who could "Meet the Producer" directly;  December 1907 -first Market building opened, every space filled; 2007 - home to nearly 200 year-round commercial businesses; 190 craftspeople, 120 farmers (rent table space by the day); 240 street performers, musicians; 300 apartment units (low-income elderly people); 10 million visitors a year.

Plaza Hotel - 100th Anniversary: October 1, 1907 - Plaza Hotel (New York) opened on a site formerly occupied by the Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt mansion; 18-story, $12 million, 750-room hotel in the French Renaissance Beaux-Arts style was project of Bernhard Beinecke, hotelier Fred Sterry and Harry S. Black, President of the Fuller Construction Company; Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt were first guests to sign register.

SKF Group - 100th Anniversary: 1907 - Sven Wingquist, bright young Swedish engineer, founded of Svenska Kullagerfabriken (SKF); produced world's first self-aligning ball bearing; first year - 15 employees, loss of 5 371 SEK, only 2 200 bearings produced; 1910 - one factory, 325 employees (15% worked outside Sweden); 1926 - AB Volvo, a subsidiary of SKF, started production of experimental cars; 1930 - 12 factories, 21,000 employees (66% worked outside Sweden); 1935 - AB Volvo became independent of SKF; 1950 - 18 factories, 31,000 employees (66% worked outside Sweden); 1970 - 68 factories, 67 000 employees (78% worked outside Sweden). One of the world's leading ball and roller bearing makers.

UPI - 100th Anniversary: July 15, 1907 - United Press Associations, three regional news services combined by newspaper publisher E.W. Scripps, began service; founded on principle that there should be no restrictions on who could buy news from a news service; formula made UP a direct threat to the monopolistic and exclusionary alliances of the major U.S. and European wire services at the time; 1958 - UP merged with the International News Service (founded in 1909 by William Randolph Hearst), became known as UPI.

UPS - 100th Anniversary: August 28, 1907 - James E. ("Jim") Casey (19-year-old) borrowed $100 from a friend to start the American Messenger Company in Seattle, Washington; 1919 - expands to Oakland, CA, changes name to United Parcel Service: "United" served as a reminder that the company's operations in each city were part of the same organization, "Parcel" identified the nature of the business, and "Service" indicated what was offered.

Yachting - 100th Anniversary: January 1907 - Yachting magazine founded; Lawrence Perry, first editor; covered waterfront; inaugural issue of 62 pages.

3 Musketeers - 75th Anniversary: 1932 - M&M/MARS introduced 3 MUSKETEERS® Bar; third brand produced and manufactured by company; named for original design of product (three pieces and three flavors: vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry).

Aeroflot - 75th Anniversary: 1932 - Name "Aeroflot" officially adopted, represented consolidation of all Russian civil aviation activities under name of Grazhdanskiy Wozdushnyy Flot (Civil Air Fleet); 1922 - first international airline service, a German-Soviet venture DeRuLuft ("Deutsche-Russische Luftverkehrgesellschaft"), connected Moscow to Koenigsberg (Russia to the west); February 9, 1923 - Dobrolet airlines established; July 15, 1923 - started operations between Moscow and Nizhni Novgorod; 1937 - International flights start as Aeroflot.

Air India - 75th Anniversary: October 15, 1932 - Tata Aviation Service, forerunner to Tata Airlines and Air India, began service (1953 - government of Jawaharlal Nehru nationalized Air India).

Alaska Air - 75th Anniversary: January 1932 - Linious "Mac" McGee and Harvey Barnhill (had acquired three-seat Stinson airplane in 1931 for $5,000 from San Francisco company,  parent company of United Airlines,  to support McGee's fur-buying business); started advertising their company in Anchorage Daily Times a furrier, but also as airline offering service between Anchorage and Bristol Bay; Barnhill and McGee dissolved partnership; April 1932 - Charlie Ruttan, Steve Mills, Jack Waterworth founded Star Air Service to offer flight instruction, charter service from Anchorage; acquired McGee Airways (seven silver-and-black Stinsons) for $50,000 with caveat (if Mcgee didn't get paid on time, he would return to manage airline until he got all of his money); created largest airline in Alaska (22 aircraft); 1936 - Star's gross income $190,000 a year; passengers paid 20 cents a mile, 35 percent of all freight moved in territory by plane; acquired struggling Alaska Interior Airlines (founded by McGee Airways' first pilot, Oscar Winchell); late 1937 - sold airline to investors led by Don Goodman (one of his former pilots) and the Strandbergs (successful Kuskokwim mining family); name changed to Star Air Lines; 1942 - airline sold, name changed to Alaska Star Airlines; 1944 - name changed to Alaska Airlines.

Beech Aircraft - 75th Anniversary: 1932 - Walter and Olive Ann Beech, and engineer Ted Wells, founded the Beech Aircraft Company in Wichita. KS; November 1932 - first product, negative-stagger biplane (designated Model 17R Stagger Wing Biplane), made test flight; sleek, comfortable, fast (capable of more than 200 mph); paragon of business airplanes in early 1930s; 1945 -produced more than 7,000 airplanes for Allied war effort; twin Beech AT-71C-45 trained more than 90 percent of U.S. Army Air Forces navigator/bombardier's, 50 percent of multi-engine pilots; 1947 - introduced new line of light aircraft (modern, all-metal Model 35 "V" Tailed Bonanza); February 1980 - merged with Raytheon company, Olive Ann elected to Board of Directors of Raytheon. 

Family Circle Magazine - 75th Anniversary: September 9, 1932 - Harry Evans, founder and first editor, published first issue of Family Circle magazine; backed by Charles E. Merrill, founder Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith and founder of the grocery chain that became Safeway Stores; first issue distributed free in three chain stores; first magazine to be distributed exclusively through grocery stores; December 1933 - given away in stores in 31 states and Hawaii (circulation of 80,000); 1939 - circulation close to 1.5 million; 1946 - ceased to be free; April 30, 1971 - acquired by New York Times Company; 2006 - circulation of 5,770,000.

Frito Corn Chips - 75th Anniversary: 1932 - Elmer Doolin of San Antonio, TX, operator of the Highland Park Confectioner, purchased rights to unknown corn chip product to diversify his ice cream business; spent $100 for corn chip recipe, 19 retail accounts, manufacturing equipment (converted hand-operated potato ricer); established new business venture in his mother's kitchen.

Hartz Mountain - 75th Anniversary: 1932 - Max Stern founded Hartz Mountain line of pet products (already largest livestock importer in America); 1959 - Leonard (son) joined company, expanded product lines into goldfish, tropical fish, full line of aquatic supplies; 1960s - expanded with dog and cat products; research, manufacturing facilities built, large sales force formed, strategically located regional distribution centers established; early 1980s - Hartz products sold in more than 40,000 U.S. and Canadian retail outlets; 2000 - acquired by fund managed by J.W. Childs Associates, LP, private equity investment firm; June 2004 - acquired by Sumitomo Corporation of America (SCOA).

Jerusalem Post - 75th Anniversary: December 1, 1932 - Ukrainian-born U.S. journalist Gershon Agron (originally Agronsky) begins daily publication of English-language Palestine Post; represented Yishuv's cause, both to British authorities and English-speaking world, offered news from abroad to population of the Yishuv; 1950 - name changed to Jerusalem Post; 1949 to 1951 - Agron presided over Israel's official (government) Information Service; 1955 - Agron elected mayor of Jerusalem (in office until 1959).

LEGO - 75th Anniversary: 1932 - Ole Kirk Christiansen founded small carpenter’s workshop in Billund, Denmark to make stepladders, ironing boards and wooden toys; 1934 - adopted name LEGO (abbreviation of two Danish words "leg godt", meaning "play well"); now owned by Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, a grandchild of the founder; now owned by Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, a grandchild of the founder; 1949 - created set of interlocking red-and-white Automatic Building Blocks; May 1, 1954 - LEGO officially registered as trademark in Denmark; 1958 - LEGO brick (in present form) launched (interlocking principle with tubes); 2006 - world’s sixth-largest manufacturer of toys (in terms of sales).

Radio City - 75th Anniversary: December 27, 1932 - Radio City Music Hall opened in New York City; brainchild of the billionaire John D. Rockefeller, Jr., who decided to make the theater the cornerstone of the Rockefeller Complex he was building in a formerly derelict neighborhood in midtown Manhattan (built in partnership with the (RCA) Radio Corporation of America); 1933 - Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular debuted; remains largest indoor theater in the world (seats 6,200 people).

Revlon - 75th Anniversary: March 1, 1932 - Charles and Joseph Revson, along with chemist, Charles Lachman (contributed the "L" in the REVLON name), founded Revlon; pooled their resources, developed unique manufacturing process (used pigments instead of dyes) for single product - nail enamel; offered to women a rich-looking, opaque nail enamel in wide variety of shades never before available; sold to beauty salons; 1937 - sold through department stores, selected drugstores; 1938 - company became multimillion dollar organization;  1941 - virtual monopoly on beauty salon sales; 1973 - Charlie® fragrance introduced; designed for a young, working woman market (1977 - sales passed $1 billion mark); 1985 - acquired by subsidiary of MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings.

Save the Children Fund (U. S.) - 75th Anniversary: 1932 - John Voris founded Save the Children (U.S.) in New York to help needy Appalachian children through programs that help families better provide for their children; 1933 - working with families and communities in five state; 1989 - UN General Assembly unanimously adopted Convention on the Rights of the Child, comprehensive treaty, based on Eglantyne Jebb’s 1923 declaration of rights and protections for children; 1998 - ratified by all but three countries. 1919 - Eglantyne Jebb established Save the Children Fund in England to provide aid to young survivors in war-ravaged Vienna; 1923 - wrote Children's Charter.

Skippy Peanut Butter - 75th Anniversary: 1932 - Rosefield Packing Co. (Alameda, CA) introduced Skippy Peanut Butter; first use of "Skippy" as trademark for peanut butter (apparently taken from Percy Crosby cartoon character of same name, invalidated in 1934); canceled exclusive licensing agreement with Swift & Co., makers of Peter Pan Peanut Butter, following a dispute; February 1, 1933 - began selling Skippy; introduced chunk-style peanut butter; December 21, 1948 - registered "Skippy" trademark; April 18, 1950 - Fitzhugh L. Avera, of Alameda, CA, received patent for a "Process of Manufacturing Stabilized Nut Butters" ("improved process of with hydrogenated stabilizers to afford end products substantially devoid of taste sensations of waxiness or unctuosity"); new type of cold-processed hydrogenated peanut oil; assigned to Rosefield Packing Co.; 1954 - company had nearly 25 percent of U.S. peanut butter market; 1955 - company acquired by Best Foods; April 5, 2004 - U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear trademark infringement suit by Joan Crosby Tibbetts, daughter of Percy Crosby, against Skippy's manufacturer,  BestFoods division of multinational conglomerate Unilever; [may have] ended 39-year quest to invalidate Skippy trademark registered by CPC International.

Sliced Bread - 75th Anniversary: July 12, 1932 - Otto Frederick Rohwedder, of Davenport, IA, received a patent for a "Machine for Slicing an Entire Loaf of Bread at a Single Operation"; first loaf-at-a-time bread-slicing machine with multiple cutting bands; 1928 -  Chillicothe Baking Company (Chillicothe, MO) installed first machine; July 7, 1928 - first sliced bread produced ("Kleen Maid Sliced Bread"); 1929 - Rohwedder sold invention to Bettendorf (Iowa) Company (acquired by Micro-Westco., Inc. of Davenport); served as vice-president, sales manager of company for many years.

Tiger Beer - 75th Anniversary: 1932 - John Fraser and David Chalmers Neave, founders of Fraser and Neave (F&N), Ltd. (incorporated in 1898), launched Tiger Beer in Singapore; 1931 - formed Malayan Breweries Limited in joint venture with Heineken.

Harry Winston, Inc. - 75th Anniversary: 1932 - Harry Winston (36), son of a jeweler, founded Harry Winston, Inc. in New York; name synonymous with most famous gemstones and jewelry designs in the world (Hope Diamond, Jonker Diamond, Taylor-Burton Diamond); 1958 - presented the Hope Diamond to the Smithsonian Institution; April 2004 - Aber Diamond Corporation (Toronto, ON), diamond company focusing on mining and retail segments of diamond industry, acquired 51% interest in Harry Winston Inc. for $85 million, raised ownership to 53%; September 2006 - completed acquisition of minority shareholders' interests for $157 million, company valued at about $330 million.

Zippo Lighters - 75th Anniversary: 1932 - George G. Blaisdell, owner of Blaisdell Oil Co., developed the Zippo lighter in a garage in Bradford, PA; had watched use of cumbersome Austrian-made lighter (worked well but looked ugly, required two hands, thin metal surface dented easily); liked the sound of the word "zipper" so he formed different variations on the word and settled on "Zippo," deciding that it had a "modern" sound; lighters sold for $ 1.95 each with money back guarantee. March 3, 1936 - received a patent for a "Pocket Lighter" ("having a minimum of projections from its closed case, and in which movement of the cover from either its fully open or its fully closed position is restrained by simple means concealed when the lighter is closed"); assigned to Zippo Manufacturing Company; August 1, 1950 - Lester Flickinger and George G. Blaisdell, of Bradford, PA, received a patent for a "Pyrophoric Lighter" ("object of this invention is to provide a simple, inexpensive and effective manner of preventing [such] flint-induced, wheel-binding distortions of a corrosion-resisting flint holding tube"); assigned to Zippo Manufacturing Company.

Control Data - 50th Anniversary: 1957 -  William Norris, Seymore Cray, six other computer engineers quit UNIVAC division of Sperry Rand Corp. (had sold ERA, pioneering St. Paul computer company founded in 1946, to UNIVAC) , founded Control Data Corp., in Minneapolis, MN, to concentrate on part of market that IBM did not dominate: large computers used mainly in scientific research; 1960 - building most powerful computer in world, the 1604; 1964 - introduced CDC 6600, first commercial supercomputer, 10 times faster than anything on market; 1969 - 45,000 employees, $1 billion in annual revenue; 1976 to 1980 - revenue grew from $2.1 billion to $3.8 billion; 1984 - revenue peaked at $5 billion; 1985 - losses reached more than $400 million, 18,000 workers down from 60,000, plants closed, assets sold; company eventually split into two businesses.

Digital Equipment - 50th Anniversary: August 1957 - Ken Olsen, Stan Olsen, Harlan Anderson left MIT's Lincoln Laboratory, established Digital Equipment Corporation to sell minicomputers to scientific, process control, academic communities; Georges Doriot, founder of American Research and Development Corporation, supplied $70,000 in venture capital (later sold equity stake for about $450 million); pioneered minicomputer industry with PDP series; 1977 - VAX introduced, gained strong foothold in commercial data processing; evolved into complete line from desktop to mainframe, used same VMS operating system in all models; 1992 - introduced RISC-based Alpha architecture open system; 1997 - sold semiconductor manufacturing facilities to Intel; 1998 - acquired by Compaq; 2002 - acquired by Hewlett Packard.

Edsel - 50th Anniversary: August 26, 1957 - Ford Motor Company rolled out the first Edsel automobile five years after its conception (named after Henry Ford's son, Edsel Bryant Ford); based on careful market research that indicated consumers wanted more horsepower, tailfins, three-tone paint jobs, wrap-around windshields; September 4, 1957 - Ford Motor Co. began selling Edsels; proclaimed this day "E-day" in celebration of the Edsel's introduction (five years after conception, in response to careful market research that indicated consumers wanted more horsepower, tailfins, three-tone paint jobs, wrap-around windshields).; low price, V-8 engine failed to overcome "ugly horse-collar grille" = negative press, lack of sales; 1958 - earned just 1.5 percent share of auto market; 1960 - line discontinued,  110,847 manufactured. 

Enterprise Rent-A-Car - 50th Anniversary: 1957 - Jack Taylor founded Executive Leasing Company in St. Louis, MO with seven cars and hunch that customers would lease automobiles, 1962 - added rental car business division with fleet of 17 vehicles; started Car Sales division; 1969 - company renamed Enterprise (in honor of aircraft carrier aboard which Taylor served as decorated fighter pilot in World War II); 1970 - perceived best growth opportunities were with hometown renters, not airport travelers; 1974 - established "We'll Pick You Up" tradition; 1980 - company's fleet reached 6,000 rental vehicles; 1989 - name changed to Enterprise Rent-A-Car; more than 500 locations, more than 50,000 rental vehicles; 1992 - surpassed $1 billion in annual revenues, nearly 10,000 employees; 1994 - more than $2 billion in annual revenue, more than 250,000 rental vehicles; 2004 - more than 6,000 offices in U.S. (locations within 15 miles of 90 percent of the entire population), Canada, U.K., Ireland, Germany; 600,000 rental car, 135,000 Fleet Services vehicles in service; surpassed $7 billion in annual revenue.

Fairchild Semiconductor - 50th Anniversary: October 1, 1957 - Fairchild Semiconductor formed to develop, produce silicon diffused transistors, other semiconductor devices; based on work done by Gordon E. Moore, C. Sheldon Roberts, Eugene Kleiner, Robert N. Noyce, Victor H. Grinich, Julius Blank, Jean A. Hoerni, Jay T. Last, eight scientists who left Shockley Semiconductor Laboratories in Santa Clara Valley (founded 1955) due to management style and disenchantment with pure research of founder William Shockley, co-inventor of transistor (1948); used $3500 of their own money to develop method of mass-producing silicon transistors using a double diffusion technique and a chemical-etching system; Fairchild Camera and Instrument Corporation invested $1.5 million in return for option to buy company within eight years; profitable in six months; April 25,1961 - Robert Noyce, of Los Altos, CA, received a patent for a "Semiconductor Device-and-Lead Structure" ("electrical circuit structures incorporating semiconductor devices"); integrated circuit, complete electronic circuit inside small silicon chip; assigned to Fairchild Semiconductor Corp.

Frisbee - 50th Anniversary: January 13, 1957 - Wham-O Manufacturing Co., Emeryville, CA, began production of "Pluto Platter" (1955 - bought design rights to plastic flying disc created in 1948 by building inspector Fred Morrison; origins are either Frisbie Pie Co. pie plates on Yale University's campus or popcorn can lids); 1958 - modified saucer, renamed Frisbee; September 30, 1958 - Walter Frederick Morrison, of La Puente, CA, received a design patent for a "Flying Toy", frisbee; December 26, 1967 - Edward E. Headrick, of La Canada, CA, received a patent for a "Flying Saucer" ("related to aerodynamic toys to be thrown through the air and in particular to flying saucers for use in throwing games"); assigned to Wham-O Manufacturing Company; May 26, 1969 - Wham-O Mfg. Co. registered "Frisbee" trademark ("toy flying saucers for toss games"); 1982 - Kransco Group Companies bought Wham-O for $12 million; 1994 - Mattel bought WHAM-O from Kransco; 1997 - Mattel sold assets of Wham-O (sales of $18 million) at auction to group including Charterhouse Group and Seven Hills Partners; 2006 - Charterhouse Group sold Wham-O (sales of $80 million) to an affiliate of Cornerstone Overseas Investments Ltd. (Hong Kong).

Hanna-Barbera Productions - 50th Anniversary: 1957 - MGM shut down its animation studio; Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer animation directors William Hanna and Joseph Barbera changed name of H-B Enterprises to Hanna-Barbera Productions (1944 - H-B Enterprises founded as freelance television commercial production company); made cartoons directly for small screen, launched first production, Ruff and Reddy; 1960 - produced first-ever animated prime-time family sitcom show, with half-hour storyline, The Flintstones; also produced The Jetsons, The Huckleberry Hound Show, The Yogi Bear Show, Jonny Quest, Wacky Races, Scooby-Doo, Smurfs; 1991 - acquired by Turner Broadcasting; 1992 - renamed H-B Production Company; 1993 - renamed Hanna-Barbera Cartoons; 1996 - Turner acquired by Time Warner; Hanna-Barbera absorbed into Warner Bros. Animation.

Hush Puppies - 50th Anniversary: 1957 - Victor Krause, Chairman of Wolverine Shoe and Tanning Corporation (founded 1893), developed oxford shoe that utilized new technology in tanning process of suede; first truly casual shoe; July 1, 1958 - registered "Hush Puppies" trademark; name suggested by Jim Muir, company salesman; had dined at friend’s home in Tennessee; enjoyed Southern dish of fried corn dough called "Hush Puppies"; told that any remaining corn dough was fed to dogs to keep them from barking (common to refer to aching feet as "barking dogs").

Hyatt - 50th Anniversary: September 27, 1957 - Jay A. Pritzker opened Hyatt Corporation's first hotel at Los Angeles International Airport (acquired Hyatt House, owned by local entrepreneur, Hyatt R. von Dehn. for $2.2 milion); 1967 - opened world's first atrium hotel, Hyatt Regency Atlanta; became known worldwide; 1969 - 13 Hyatt® hotels in United States, opened first international hotel, Hyatt Regency Hong Kong; 1980 - Grand Hyatt® and Park Hyatt® brands introduced; 1998 - 182 hotels, 34 more under construction ; 2006 - 215 Hyatt branded hotels and resorts (over 90,000 rooms) in 43 countries around the world; 49 Hyatt hotels and resorts under development, including 15 new hotels in China.

Marriott - 50th Anniversary: J. Willard Marriott's Hot Shoppes, Inc. (founded 1927) opened first hotel, 365-room Twin Bridges Motor Hotel in Arlington, VA; 1967 - name changed to Marriott Corporation; 2004 - revenues totaled $10 billion, $594 million in net income; global system had 2,632 hotels and timeshare units (484,690 rooms).

S& P 500 - 50th Anniversary: March 1, 1957 - Standard & Poor's Corporation introduced the S & P 500 index, representative sample of 500 leading companies in leading industries of U.S. economy; characterized by - 1) approximately 75% of U.S. equities market covered; 2) market capitalization weighted, 3) minimum o $ 4 billion capitalization, 4) at least 50% public float, 5) reconstituted as needed; 1957 - a) 'materials' (steel, aluminum, chemical, paper, mining) biggest industrial sector represented, b) materials, energy = 50% of index value (12% in 2006); c) AT&T largest company - $11.2 billion market capitalization; 1957-2006 - 1) average annual return of 10.83% ($1000 in S & P in 1957 = $168,000 in 2006); 2) best performing company - Altria (old Philip Morris) with 19.88% annual return ($1000 in 1957 = $8.4 million in 2006); 3) 111 companies survived intact (PepsiCola, Coca-Cola, Colgate Palmolive, Heinz, Wrigley, Procter & Gamble, Hershey, Tootsie Roll Industries); 4)  almost 1,000 companies have been added to index as others were dropped (bankruptcies, mergers, corporate changes).

Toyota - 50th Anniversary: October 31, 1957 - Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. was founded in California (Shotaro Kamiya as the first president); by the end of 1958 - 287 Toyopet Crowns and one Land Cruiser had been sold; 1997 - Toyota Camry became the best-selling car in America, surpassed Honda's popular Accord model.

Toys "R" Us - 50th Anniversary: 1957 - Charles Lazarus opened first Toys "R" Us store in Washington; adopted supermarket model for toy store, allowed customers to examine and pick out products on their own, pay for them at checkout stand; with the opening of second store, chose name with backward "R" as attention-getter (1948 - started baby furniture store, Children's Bargain Town, in Washington, DC to cater to post-war baby boom era); February 1960 - Geoffrey the Giraffe introduced as mascot; 1983 - expanded into children's clothing (freestanding locations closed in 2003); 1984 - opened first two international stores; 1996 - launched Babies "R" Us; July 2005 - acquired by Bain Capital Partners LLC, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., Vornado Realty Trust for $6.6 billion.

Adobe Systems - 25th Anniversary: December 1982 - John Warnock and Charles Geschke founded Adobe Systems (named for Adobe Creek, ran behind house of one of founders); left Xerox PARC in order to further develop, commercialize PostScript page description language; 1985 - Apple Computer licensed PostScript for use in LaserWriter printer product line; 1989 - introduced Adobe Photoshop for Macintosh; extremely stable, well-featured, well marketed; soon dominated market; 1994 - acquired Aldus, PageMaker and TIFF file format; 1995 - acquired long-document DTP application FrameMaker from Frame Technologies; December 3, 2005 - acquired Macromedia, former competitor; for about $3.4 billion.

Diet Coke - 25th Anniversary: July 8, 1982 - Coca-Cola introduced Diet Coke (Coca-Cola Light in non-English speaking countries) at gala reception at Radio City Music Hall; first new brand since 1886 to use the Coca-Cola trademark since 1886; contained around 1.3 Calories compared to 142 Calories for regular can of Coca-Cola; 1983 - largest selling low-calorie soft drink in U. S.; caffeine-free Diet Coke introduced; 1986 - diet Cheery Coke launched; 2001 - Diet Coke with lemon introduced; Diet Vanilla Coke introduced; 2004 - #1 selling sugar-free soda in world; fourth most-popular carbonated soft drink in world; third-largest brand at the company; sold in 149 countries; 9.8% market share in U. S.; 2005 - sweetened with "Splenda" (sucralose replaced aspartame).

Kenneth Cole Productions - September 1982 - Kenneth Cole incorporated Kenneth Cole Productions, Inc.; debut collection of ladies' footwear (followed in father's footsteps, former senior executive of El Greco, Inc., shoe manufacturing, design company, manufactured CANDIES women's shoes) from  40-foot trailer truck parked on 6th Avenue, across from shoe industry trade show HQ at New York Hilton; sold 40,000 pairs of shoes (entire stock) in two and a half days; 1984 - first public service campaign (AIDS Research); 1985,1994 - sales of $84.9 million; opened Bloomingdale's Manhattan flagship concept shop; 1996 - operated 17 retail stores in United States, store in Amsterdam, Singapore; 2005 - sales at record level of $518 million; products sold in more than 7,500 department, specialty stores, through Consumer Direct business (more than 80 retail, outlet stores, consumer catalogs, interactive websites).

Compact Discs (CDs) - 25th Anniversary: October 1, 1982 - CBS/Sony introduced compact discs (CD) optical disc media in Japan with 112 different CD titles, CD player (Sony's CDP-101); 120-mm (4.7-in.) diameter plastic disk, used tiny pits read by laser to reproduce sound or other information; two major CD plants: PolyGram's Hanover, West Germany plant, Sony's plant in Japan; advantages over phonograph record, recording tape: smaller size, greater dynamic range, extremely low distortion; sold over 20,000 CD players; June 1983 - CBS shipped first CD "prepacks; 1983 - sales totaled about 30,000 players, 800,000 discs; 1984 - first large US plant, Sony subsidiary, Digital Audio Disc Corporation (DADC), opened in Terre Haute, IN; 1985 - sales totals to 22 million discs; 1987 - over 200 labels issued CDs, over 100 million discs for market of 9 million CD players; 1991 - music carrier of choice, sales exceeded those of audiocassettes.

Compaq Computer - 25th Anniversary: February 1982 - Rod Canion, Jim Harris, Bill Murto, three senior managers from semiconductor manufacturer Texas Instruments, founded Compaq Computer; each invested $1,000; first venture funding fom Ben Rosen (Sevin-Rosen partners); March 1983 - released first product, Compaq Portable, portable IBM PC compatible personal computer, priced at $2995; sold 53,000 units in first year; 1985 - released Compaq Deskpro 286, 16-bit desktop computer using an Intel 80286 microprocessor running at 6 MHz, cpable of supporting up to 7 MB of RAM; cost $2000 for 40-MB hard disk model; 1986 - introduced first PC based on Intel's new 80386 microprocessor, Compaq Deskpro 386[2]; icreased performance leadership over IBM; 1997 - acquired Tandem Computers, known for NonStop server line; instantly gave presence in higher end business computing market; 1998 - acquired Digital Equipment Corporation, leading company in previous generation of computing during the 1970s and early 1980s; made Compaq world's second largest computer maker in terms of revenue; May 3, 2002 - acquired by Hewlett-Packard in $19 billion deal.

PC Compatibles - 25th Anniversary: June 1982 - Columbia Data Products (founded in 1976) introduced the MPC 1600 "Multi Personal Computer", exact functional copy of the IBM PC model 5150 (except for BIOS); first IBM PC clone; 1983 - revenue of $56 million (vs. $9.4 million in 1982); February 1984 - IBM introduced its first portable PC; August 1984 - CDP sales faltered; 1985 - stock dropped to $0.50 per share, delisted; 1986 - taken private; 1987 - shifted emphasis from hardware to software.

Silicon Graphics - 25th Anniversary: 1982 - Jim Clark (38), electrical engineering associate professor at Stanford University, and six students founded Silicon Graphics to produce three-dimensional computer graphics programs (high-performance visual computing systems); venture funding from Mayfield Group; 1987 - sold workstations to US military, NASA, British Aerospace, automobile manufacturers, Hollywood film makers; February 28, 1994 - Clark left company to sue applications software opportunities (founded Netscape); 1999 - changed corporate identity to "SGI" in attempt to clarify current market position as more than graphics company; May 8, 2006 - filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for itself and U.S. subsidiaries as part of plan to reduce debt by $250 million; October 17, 2006 - emerged from bankruptcy.

Spago - 25th Anniversary: February 1982 - Austrian-born Wolfgang Puck opened Spago (Italian for string) on Sunset Strip in West Hollywood to serve simple, fresh, innovative food by skilled, friendly staff in casually sophisticated yet comfortable environment (former part owner of Ma Maison, magnet for Hollywood’s rich and famous); first signature dish, gourmet pizza topped with smoked salmon and caviar, put restaurant Los Angeles foodie map; 1986 - regularly featured guest on ABC's "Good Morning America"; 1990 - Spgao grossing $6 million per year ;1997 - Spago Beverly Hills opened; 2000 - Emmy-winning television series, "Wolfgang Puck," debuted on Food Network (aired for five seasons).

Sun Microsystems - 25th Anniversary: February 1982 - Former Stanford University students Scott McNealy, 27, Vinod Khosla, Andy Bechtolsheim, Bill Joy founded Sun Microsystems in Palo Alto, CA (Sun is acronym for Stanford University Network) to make engineering computer workstations; 1983 - signed $40 million OEM agreement with Computervision; 1988 - $1 billion in revenue (fastest rise ever for computer company with direct sales force); 1992 - shipped more multiprocessing UNIX servers in single year than any other vendor shipped in history; 1993 - one million systems shipped just over 10 years; made its debut on Fortune 500; 1995 - introduced Java technology, first universal software platform, designed from ground up for Internet and corporate intranets; enabled developers to write applications once to run on any computer; 1996 - licensed Java technology to all major hardware and software companies; 1997 - first systems company ever to demonstrate best TPC-C performance on all four leading database platforms; 2001 - $18.25 billion global leader in network computing solutions; 2005 - largest business contributor to global open source community with donation of 1,600 patents.

USA Today - 25th Anniversary: 1982 - Al Neuharth, former chairman and chief executive officer of Gannett Co., founded USA Today with goal of providing colorful alternative to relatively , wordy, gray metropolitan papers; widest circulation of any newspaper in United States (average 2.25 million copies every weekday), second world-wide among English-language broadsheets behind the 2.7 million daily paid copies of The Times of India.