Entrepreneurs

Many famous entrepreneurs have left a remarkable mark on the global economy and society.

Figures like Henry Ford, who revolutionized manufacturing with the assembly line, and more recently, tech innovators like Steve Jobs and Bill Gates—have transformed personal computing and software—have shaped entire industries and changed the way people live and work.

EARLY INNOVATORS (PRE-1800S)

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1455: Johannes Gutenberg

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Movable type printing press.

1602: Dutch East India Company founders

First publicly traded company.

1660: Robert Boyle & Christopher Wren

Royal Society, a scientific research institution.

1694: William Paterson

Bank of England, which became the Central bank of England.

1746: Benjamin Franklin

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Library Company of Philadelphia (first subscription library in America)

1773: Robert Clive

East India Company, a British trading company.

INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION PIONEERS (1800S)

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1810: Robert Owen

New Lanark mills (social reform in industry).

1837: John Deere

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Deere & Company (agricultural equipment).

1837: Charles Lewis Tiffany & John B. Young

Tiffany & Co. (luxury goods).

1843: James Pimm

Pimm's (beverage company).

1847: Thomas Edison

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General Electric.

1851: Isaac Singer

Singer Corporation (sewing machines).

1853: Levi Strauss

Levi Strauss & Co. (denim jeans).

1865: Henry John Heinz

H. J. Heinz Company (food processing).

1866: James Beech Eads

Eads Bridge Company (infrastructure).

1870: John D. Rockefeller

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Standard Oil.

1876: Alexander Graham Bell

Bell Telephone Company (later AT&T).

1886: John Pemberton

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Coca-Cola.

1889: Herman Hollerith

Tabulating Machine Company (later IBM).

1892: George Eastman

Eastman Kodak.

1896: Henry Ford

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Ford Motor Company.

1898: Asa Griggs Candler

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The Coca-Cola Company (incorporation).

MODERN VISIONARIES (1900S-PRESENT)

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1900: Milton S. Hershey

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The Hershey Chocolate Company.

1911: Frank C. Mars

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Mars Candy.

1923: Walt and Roy Disney

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The Walt Disney Company.

1939: William Hewlett and David Packard

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Hewlett-Packard (HP).

1962: Sam Walton

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Walmart.

1967: S. Truett Cathy

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Chick-fil-A

1968: Gordon Moore and Robert Noyce

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Intel.

1971: Fred Smith

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FedEx.

1975: Bill Gates & Paul Allen

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Microsoft.

1976: Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, Ronald Wayne

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Apple.

1994: Jeff Bezos

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Amazon.

1995: Pierre Omidyar

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eBay.

1998: Larry Page and Sergey Brin

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Google.

1999: Jack Ma

Alibaba.

2004: Mark Zuckerberg

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Facebook (now Meta).

2006: Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Biz Stone, Evan Williams

Twitter.

2008: Brian Chesky, Joe Gebbia, Nathan Blecharczyk

Airbnb. 

2009: Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp

Uber.

2010: Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger

Instagram.

2011: Melanie Perkins, Cliff Obrecht, Cameron Adams

Canva.

2015: Altman

Open AI.

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