Archive for the 'History' Category
Today in Entrepreneurial History: March 15
1493 – Christopher Columbus returns to Spain after his first trip to the Americas. 1776 – South Carolina becomes the first American colony to declare its independence from England and set up its own government. 1866 – Johan Vaaler born, Norwegian inventor of the paperclip 1887 – Marjorie Merriweather Post born, American entrepreneur and founder [...]
Today in Entrepreneurial History: March 11
1702 – The Daily Courant, England’s first national daily newspaper is published for the first time. 1872 – Construction of the Seven Sisters Colliery, South Wales, begins; located on one of the richest coal sources in Britain. 1888 – The Great Blizzard of 1888 begins along the eastern seaboard of the United States, shutting down [...]
Today in Entrepreneurial History: March 10
1876 – Alexander Graham Bell makes the first successful telephone call by saying “Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you.” 1891 – Almon Strowger, an undertaker in Topeka, Kansas, patents the Strowger switch, a device which led to the automation of telephone circuit switching. 2000 – The NASDAQ Composite stock market index peaks [...]
Today in Entrepreneurial History: March 9
1500 – The fleet of Pedro Alvares Cabral leaves Lisbon for the Indies. The fleet will discover Brazil which lies within boundaries granted to Portugal in the Treaty of Tordesillas. 1842 – The first documented discovery of gold in California occurs at Rancho San Francisco, six years before the California Gold Rush. 1933 – Great [...]
Today in Entrepreneurial History: March 8
1775 – An anonymous writer, though by some to be Thomas Paine, publishes “African Slavery in America,” the first article in the American colonies calling for the emancipation of slaves and the abolition of slavery. 1817 – The New York Stock Exchange is founded. 1910 – French aviatrix Raymonde de Laroche becomes the first woman [...]
Today in Entrepreneurial History: March 6
1840 – The Baltimore College of Dental Surgery opens, the first dental school. 1869 – Dmitri Mendeleev presents the first periodic table to the Russian Chemical Society. 1899 – Bayer registers aspirin as a trademark. 1992 – Michelangelo computer virus begins to affect computers.
Today in Entrepreneurial History: March 4
1493 – Explorer Christopher Columbus arrives back in Lisbon, Portugal, aboard his ship Niña from his voyage to what is now The Bahamas and other islands in the Caribbean. 1628 – The Massachusetts Bay Colony is granted a Royal charter. 1792 – Samuel Slocum born, inventor of a machine for the production of wrought iron [...]
Today in Entrepreneurial History: March 3
1875 – The first ever organized indoor game of ice hockey is played in Montreal, Canada as recorded in The Montreal Gazette. 1885 – The American Telephone & Telegraph Company is incorporated in New York. 1904 – Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany becomes the first person to make a sound recording of a political document, [...]
You may not realize this, but Willis Carrier is the man to thank when the days get hot and you turn on your air conditioning. Credited with inventing the modern air conditioner, this man not only changed the lives of people with in-home AC but it also changed the way we watched movies. According to [...]
Today in Entrepreneurial History: March 2
1791 – Long-distance communication speeds up with the unveiling of a semaphore machine in Paris. 1797 – The Bank of England issues the first one-pound and two-pound notes. 1807 – The U.S. Congress passes the Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves, disallowing the importation of new slaves into the country. 1933 – The film King Kong [...]
Today in Entrepreneurial History: March 1
1628 – Writs issued in February by Charles I of England mandate that every county in England (not just seaport towns) pay ship tax by this date. 1790 – The first United States census is authorized. 1873 – E. Remington and Sons in Ilion, New York begins production of the first practical typewriter. 1893 – [...]
Today in Entrepreneurial History: February 28
1827 – The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad is incorporated, becoming the first railroad in America offering commercial transportation of both people and freight. 1849 – Regular steamboat service from the west to the east coast of the United States begins with the arrival of the SS California in San Francisco Bay, 4 months 22 days after [...]
Today in Entrepreneurial History: February 25
1836 – Samuel Colt is granted a United States patent for the Colt revolver. 1901 – J. P. Morgan incorporates the United States Steel Corporation. 1919 – Oregon places a 1 cent per U.S. gallon tax on gasoline, becoming the first U.S. state to levy a gasoline tax. 1928 – Charles Jenkins Laboratories of Washington, [...]
Today in Entrepreneurial History: February 23
1455 – Traditional date for the publication of the Gutenberg Bible, the first Western book printed with movable type. 1886 – Charles Martin Hall produced the first samples of man-made aluminum, after several years of intensive work. He was assisted in this project by his older sister Julia Brainerd Hall. 1905 – Chicago attorney Paul [...]
Presidents That Were Small Business Friendly
Yesterday we celebrated President’s day. It is the perfect time to remember the people that have helped make our country great. Reuters recently took a look at some of these men, and the men who small business owners should pay homage to. Two of them are below. Do you have a favorite? Bill Clinton (1993-2001) [...]
Patrick Grant never realized that a discarded copy of the Financial Times would change his life. However, that is exactly what it did. He was an MBA student, eating his lunch alone at University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School. While he sat there munching, he was drawn to an ad in the “Businesses for Sale” [...]
Today in Entrepreneurial History: February 16
1852 – Studebaker Brothers wagon company, precursor of the automobile manufacturer, is established. 1937 – Wallace H. Carothers receives a United States patent for nylon. 1968 – In Haleyville, Alabama, the first 9-1-1 emergency telephone system goes into service. 1978 – The first computer bulletin board system is created (CBBS in Chicago, Illinois).
Today in Entrepreneurial History: February 14
Happy Valentine’s Day, Entrepreneurs! We often complain that today is a holiday that was made up to sell greeting cards and flowers. What better day to celebrate the entrepreneurial spirit! In 1797, a British publisher issued The Young Man’s Valentine Writer, which contained scores of suggested sentimental verses for the young lover unable to compose [...]
Today in Entrepreneurial History: February 10
1863 – The fire extinguisher is patented. 1933 – The New York City-based Postal Telegraph Company introduces the first singing telegram.
Today in Entrepreneurial History: February 8
1906 – Chester Carlson born, American physicist and inventor of Xerography 1910 – The Boy Scouts of America is incorporated by William D. Boyce. 1922 – President Warren G. Harding introduces the first radio in the White House. 1960 – The first eight brass star plaques are installed in the Hollywood Walk of Fame. 1963 [...]
Ads of the Past: Poultry for Profit from 1922
Text of ad: Poultry raising offers you pleasure and profit combined with exercise and fresh air; we are helping many poultry raisers to health and profit and can help you, too. Only correspondence course indorsed by leading agricultural colleges. Write quick for free book “How to Raise Poultry for profit.” THE NATIONAL POULTRY INST., INC., [...]
Today in Entrepreneurial History: February 6
1802 – Charles Wheatstone born, English scientist and inventor 1815 – New Jersey grants the first American railroad charter to John Stevens. 1929 – Colin Murdoch born, New Zealand pharmacist, inventor of the tranquilizer gun 1959 – Jack Kilby of Texas Instruments files the first patent for an integrated circuit. 1963 – Kevin Trudeau born, [...]
1840 – John Boyd Dunlop born, Scottish inventor 1840 – Hiram Stevens Maxim born, American inventor (Maxim gun 1869 – The largest alluvial gold nugget in history, called the “Welcome Stranger”, was found in Moliagul, Victoria, Australia. 1900 – The United States and the United Kingdom sign a treaty for the Panama Canal 1913 – [...]
Today in Entrepreneurial History: February 4
1825 – The Ohio Legislature authorizes the construction of the Ohio and Erie Canal and the Miami and Erie Canal. 2004 – Facebook, a mainstream online social network is founded by Mark Zuckerberg.
Today in Entrepreneurial History: February 3
1637 – Tulip mania collapses in the United Provinces (now the Netherlands) as sellers could no longer find buyers for their bulb contracts. 1690 – The colony of Massachusetts issues the first paper money in America. 1913 – The Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, authorizing the Federal government to impose and [...]
When Sarah Palin criticized President Obama’s State of the Union Address, she mentioned a little coffee shop called Spudnuts. Spudnuts sounded familiar, so I checked into it. Turns out that Spudnut Shops were a franchised chain of stores selling potato flour donuts called Spudnuts. The parent company no longer exists, but independent stores, including the [...]
Today in Entrepreneurial History: February 2
1812 – Russia establishes a fur trading colony at Fort Ross, California. 1653 – New Amsterdam (later renamed The City of New York) is incorporated. 1848 – California Gold Rush: The first ship with Chinese immigrants arrives in San Francisco, California. 1876 – The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs of Major League Baseball is [...]
Today in Entrepreneurial History: January 31
1849 – Corn Laws are abolished in the United Kingdom (following legislation in 1846). 1930 – 3M begins marketing Scotch Tape. 1958 – Explorer program: Explorer 1 – The first successful launch of an American satellite into orbit. 1990 – The first McDonald’s in the Soviet Union opens in Moscow. via Wikipedia.
Today in Entrepreneurial History: January 28
1820 – A Russian expedition led by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen and Mikhail Petrovich Lazarev discovers the Antarctic continent approaching the Antarctic coast. 1855 – The first locomotive runs from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean on the Panama Railway. 1878 – Yale Daily News becomes the first daily college newspaper in the United [...]
Milton Levine may have died earlier this month at 97 years old, but he has left behind a legacy that will continue on for a long time. That legacy is the toy ant farm. If you had asked Mr. Levine whether he invented the ant farm, he would have said no. It is a pastime [...]
Today in Entrepreneurial History: January 27
1785 – The University of Georgia is founded, the first public university in the United States. 1888 – The National Geographic Society is founded in Washington, D.C.. 1984 – Pop singer Michael Jackson suffers second degree burns to his scalp during the filming of a Pepsi commercial in the Shrine Auditorium. 2006 – Western Union [...]
Today in Entrepreneurial History: January 26
1838 – Tennessee enacts the first prohibition law in the United States 1841 – The United Kingdom formally occupies Hong Kong, which China later formally cedes. 1905 – The Cullinan Diamond is found at the Premier Mine near Pretoria in South Africa. 1911 – Glenn H. Curtiss flies the first successful American seaplane. 1920 – [...]
Today in Entrepreneurial History: January 25
1881 – Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell form the Oriental Telephone Company. 1915 – Alexander Graham Bell inaugurates U.S. transcontinental telephone service, speaking from New York to Thomas Watson in San Francisco.
Today in Entrepreneurial History: January 24
1848 – California Gold Rush: James W. Marshall finds gold at Sutter’s Mill near Sacramento. 1916 – In Brushaber v. Union Pacific Railroad, the Supreme Court of the United States declares the federal income tax constitutional. 1984 – The first Apple Macintosh goes on sale. Photo of me at the Mariposa Museum and History Center [...]
Via: Stephanie Fox at io9.
Geraldine Doyle was just 17 when she took a job at a metal pressing plant near Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1942. AFP reports that she was there when a United Press International photographer came to the factory while documenting the contribution of women to the war effort. A picture of Doyle was later used by [...]
Photo by flickr.
Where The Squeegee Got Its Start
Among mankind’s greatest inventions or discoveries: the automobile, airplane, baseball, light bulb, jazz, telephone, radio, penicillin, motion pictures, television, rock ‘n’ roll, computers and, of course, the squeegee. Hey, don’t laugh. Where would we be without the squeegee? We need sparkling windows to look more clearly at the muddled outside world. According to The Oakland [...]
January 1, 2011 Is Public Domain Day
According to Gutenberg News every new year since the first copyrights expired, back around 1724, the world has looked forward to the expiration of copyrights and the availability of public domain works, which have been kept under publishing monopolies. This coming January 1, Europeans will see a nice list of great works entering the public [...]
Vintage Rock T-shirts Are A Good Investment
Investing was probably the last thing on the minds of Iron Maiden fans as they flicked their Bics to the heavy-metal band in concerts back in 1982. And yet, if they bought a T-shirt at the show, they made a decision that would make Warren Buffett proud. According to The Cleveland Plain Dealer, twenty-eight years [...]
According to Neatorama, Hero of Alexandria (10-70 CE) was a Greek engineer and mathematician who lived in Roman-ruled Egypt. He invented many gadgets and wrote at length about them. In his book Pneumatics, he described an early vending machine. It dispensed holy water only when a coin was inserted. Here’s a selection from an English [...]
The History Of The Green Bean Casserole
Thanksgiving is here and there is one food that is guaranteed to make an appearance on many dinner tables today: the green bean casserole. But, how did it become the holiday favorite that it is today? Tampa Bay Online has taken a look at the creator of this casserole, and how it got its start. [...]
Thanksgiving Day, a function which originated in New England two or three centuries ago when those people recognized that they really had something to be thankful for — annually, not oftener — if they had succeeded in exterminating their neighbors, the Indians, during the previous twelve months instead of getting exterminated by their neighbors the [...]
Legendary Inventor: Margaret Knight
Born in Maine in 1838 and raised by a widowed mother, Margaret Knight showed a proclivity toward inventing from a very young age – a characteristic of many of the world’s famous inventors. After observing an accident at a textile mill at the age of 12, Margaret went to work producing her first real invention. [...]
Samuel L. Clemens, better known as Mark Twain and famous for stories such as Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer, also was an inventor and received a total of three patents. According to a USPTO press release, while living in Hartford, Conn., Twain, received his first patent for an adjustable strap that could be used to [...]
WalletPop reports that Mr. Peanut, the iconic mascot of Planters peanuts, is ending 94 years of silence in a new commercial. Given stop-action life (and the voice of Robert Downey Jr.), Mr. Peanut hosts a memorable Christmas party in one ad and plays The Christmas Song on the rims of glasses in a companion follow [...]
Yesterday marked what would have been Ruth Handler’s 94th birthday. Whether you love her or hate her, it’s impossible to deny that her invention, the Barbie doll, is everywhere. Even after she died, the Barbie doll has gone on to bigger and better things. She has her own cartoon movies, and she is still has [...]
When we think of tea lovers, the first thing that might come to mind is a nice warm cup of tea. However, CrafTea has taken a whole different approach on that topic. Offering various shirts dyed using tea, it’s pretty safe to say that they put the tea in t-shirt. Putting all sarcasm aside, they [...]
“‘World’s Biggest Book’ Goes On Sale For $100,000″
MSNBC reports that an Australian publisher unveiled what he says is the biggest book in the world, seemingly in a bid to steal the spotlight from his digital rivals. The 6-by-9 foot atlas titled “EARTH, Platinum edition” will sell for $100,000, Gordon Cheers, managing director of the publishing company of Millennium House, told the AFP, [...]
The 5 Greatest Fictional Inventors of All Time
Tom Swift Wile E Coyote Professor Lucifer Gorgonzola Butts Doc Emmett Brown Q (James Bond) Photos by gizmodo.
