4 min read
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)
1455: Johannes Gutenberg
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
Library Company of Philadelphia (first subscription library in America)
1773: Robert Clive
East India Company, a British trading company.
INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION PIONEERS (1800S)
1810: Robert Owen
New Lanark mills (social reform in industry).
1837: John Deere
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
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
Standard Oil.
1876: Alexander Graham Bell
Bell Telephone Company (later AT&T).
1886: John Pemberton
Coca-Cola.
1889: Herman Hollerith
Tabulating Machine Company (later IBM).
1892: George Eastman
Eastman Kodak.
1896: Henry Ford
Ford Motor Company.
1898: Asa Griggs Candler
The Coca-Cola Company (incorporation).
MODERN VISIONARIES (1900S-PRESENT)
1900: Milton S. Hershey
The Hershey Chocolate Company.
1911: Frank C. Mars
Mars Candy.
1923: Walt and Roy Disney
The Walt Disney Company.
1939: William Hewlett and David Packard
Hewlett-Packard (HP).
1962: Sam Walton
Walmart.
1967: S. Truett Cathy
Chick-fil-A
1968: Gordon Moore and Robert Noyce
Intel.
1971: Fred Smith
FedEx.
1975: Bill Gates & Paul Allen
Microsoft.
1976: Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, Ronald Wayne
Apple.
1994: Jeff Bezos
Amazon.
1995: Pierre Omidyar
eBay.
1998: Larry Page and Sergey Brin
Google.
1999: Jack Ma
Alibaba.
2004: Mark Zuckerberg
Facebook (now Meta).
2006: Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Biz Stone, Evan Williams
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.