Growth and innovation
From its origins in a Palo Alto garage, to its current position as one of the world's leading enterprise technology companies, HPE has grown and evolved significantly since its founding in 1939. See key milestones, moments, and innovations from our history.
Explore our history
Company milestones
From its origins in a Palo Alto garage to its current position as one of the world's leading enterprise technology companies, HPE has grown and evolved significantly since its founding in 1939. See key milestones and moments from our history.
- 1940's - 1960's
- 1960's - 1980's
- 1980's - 2000's
- 2000's - 2010's
1940–HP moves out of the garage
HP moves from the garage to rented buildings in Palo Alto.
1947–HP incorporates
HP is incorporated on August 18. Dave is named president, Bill vice president.
1955–Palo Alto booms
The 1950s were a time of tremendous growth for both HP and the city of Palo Alto. The city's population more than doubled during the decade, and the fruit orchards that characterized the town in the past were cleared to make way for highways, businesses and schools. Palo Alto was on its way to becoming the high-tech center it is today.
1957–HP goes public
HP holds its IPO on November 6, with shares selling for $16 (U.S.). The IPO was issued for two reasons: to help with estate planning for its founders and to enable employees to share in the company.
1958–F. L. Moseley Co. acquired
HP's first acquisition, F. L. Moseley Company, a producer of high-quality graphic recorders, establishes the foundation of HP's printing business.
1959–HP goes global
HP goes global, establishing a marketing organization in Geneva and a manufacturing plant in Boeblingen, Germany.
1961–HP on NYSE for first time
HP is first listed on the New York Stock Exchange on March 17.
1961–HP enters medical field
Through an acquisition of Sanborn Company, HP enters the medical field. Medical equipment will become a significant source of revenue for HP before being spun off in 2000.
1962–HP makes Fortune list
HP enters the Fortune 500 list at #460.
1963–HP's first joint venture
HP enters the Asian market by forming its first joint venture, Yokogawa-Hewlett-Packard (YHP) in Tokyo.
1964–HP's 1st CEO and president
HP celebrates its 25th anniversary. Dave Packard is elected CEO and chairman of the board; Bill Hewlett is elected president.
1969–Bill becomes CEO
Bill Hewlett becomes CEO and runs HP in Dave's absence.
1975–HP truly global
HP becomes a global company. Non-U.S. revenues exceed U.S. revenues for the first time—and remain that way to this day.
1977–Birth of "Silicon Valley"
In the 1970s, journalists began using the term "Silicon Valley" to describe the countless electronics firms proliferating in Santa Clara County. Silicon Valley became a distinct community, with Palo Alto—and HP—at its center.
1978–Bill retires as CEO
Bill retires as CEO and is succeeded by John Young.
1981–HP moves into China
HP's products become available in China, with the opening of the China Hewlett-Packard Representative office in Beijing.
1985–China goes high-tech
China Hewlett-Packard (CHP), the first high-tech joint venture in China, is established.
1987–Bill named HP's director emeritus
Bill Hewlett retires as vice chairman of the HP board and is named director emeritus.
1993–Dave retires as chairman
Dave Packard retires as chairman of the board. Lew Platt is elected to replace him.
1993–10 million HP LaserJets
HP ships its 10 millionth HP LaserJet printer.
1996–David Packard, 1912-1996
Dave Packard dies at age 83. Flags fly at half-staff across Silicon Valley and at HP offices around the world for the man headlines describe as "a Silicon Valley founding father and guiding spirit."
1999–Agilent spinoff
HP announces the spinoff of Agilent Technologies, consisting of HP's former measurement, components, chemical analysis and medical businesses. Agilent's IPO is the largest in Silicon Valley history to date. The divesture is completed in 2000.
2001–William R. Hewlett, 1913-2001
Bill Hewlett dies at age 87. HP employees, business leaders and friends around the world mourn the loss of a man described as one of the true pioneers and giants of the electronics industry.
2001–HP Services launched
HP creates HP Services to provide consulting, outsourcing, support and solutions deployment.
2002–Indigo
HP Labs leads the company into the digital publishing business by establishing a technical relationship with IndigoN.V., which HP acquires. Indigo presses offer technology called liquid electrophotography (LEP), which combines digital laser imaging, ultra-small ink particles and a liquid transport system to produce prints comparable to offset quality.
2002–HP and Compaq merge
HP and Compaq merge. The new company serves more than one billion customers across 162 countries. HP's stock symbol is changed to HPQ to reflect the combined companies.
2005–HP acquires Snapfish
In April, HP acquires online photo service Snapfish.
2005–10 millionth ProLiant server shipped
HP ships its 10 millionth HP ProLiant server in June. The first x86 processor-based ProLiant servers were shipped in 1993 by Compaq (later acquired by HP). HP held the No. 1 ranking for worldwide x86 server shipments for 35 consecutive quarters to this date (nearly 9 years).
2005–HP acquires Scitex Vision
HP acquires Scitex Vision, a market leader in wide and super-wide format printers for signage and industrial applications such as billboards, banners, street advertising and packaging.
2006–100 millionth LaserJet shipped
HP ships its 100 millionth LaserJet printer. HP shipped its first LaserJet printer in 1984.
2008–HP acquires EDS
On August 26, HP acquires Electronic Data Systems Corporation (EDS), a multi-billion technology services company. With this acquisition, initially announced on May 13, HP has one of the technology industry's broadest portfolios of products, services and end-to-end solutions. The acquisition is, by value, the largest in the IT services sector and the second largest in the technology industry, following HP's acquisition of Compaq in 2002.
2009–3Com
HP acquires 3Com Corporation, a leading provider of networking switching, routing and security solutions. HP's strategy builds on the convergence of servers, storage, networking, management, facilities and services.
2010–ArcSight
HP acquires ArcSight, a security and compliance management company.
2010–3PAR storage
HP acquires 3PAR, a leading storage provider.
2010–Fortify
HP agrees to acquire Fortify Software, a software security assurance company.
2011–Autonomy
On August 18, HP announces the acquisition of Autonomy Corporation plc, a global infrastructure software company for the enterprise.
2011–Meg Whitman leads HP
On September 22, HP's board of directors appoints Meg Whitman as president and chief executive officer.
2014–2014 Happy Birthday!
Hewlett-Packard Company—the original garage startup—celebrates its 75th anniversary.
2014–HP to split
Hewlett-Packard Company announces plans to separate into two new publicly traded Fortune 50 companies. Hewlett Packard Enterprise will be comprised of HP's enterprise technology infrastructure, software and services businesses, while HP Inc. will contain HP's personal systems and printing businesses and will retain the current logo.
2015–Aruba Networks
HP Acquires Aruba Networks, a leading provider of mobility software and WLAN hardware, to achieve leadership in the growing campus networking market.
2015–Day one
At launch, Hewlett Packard Enterprise is an industry-leading company in software, infrastructure, services and cloud. It looks to the future as a technology leader delivering IT solutions to our customers through four critical areas: transforming to a hybrid infrastructure, protecting the digital enterprise, enabling workplace productivity and empowering a data-driven organization.
Innovation gallery
From its beginning in 1939, HP has been synonymous with innovation. From Bill Hewlett's prototype audio oscillator to HP's breakthrough consumer PCs, products preserved in the HP Archives are represented here.
- 1938 - 1952
- 1956 - 1972
- 1972 - 1977
- 1980 - 1984
- 1984 - 1995
- 1995 - 2000
1938–Prototype Oscillator
This is the original prototype resistance-capacity oscillator built by Bill Hewlett while he was a graduate engineering student at Stanford.
1939–200A Oscillator
The Model 200A was HP's first product.
1939–200B Oscillator
A 1938 sale to Disney of eight oscillators required enough modifications in the original design for the result to be the Model 200B.
1941–300A Wave Analyzer
The 300A measured the individual harmonic in the output voltage of an amplifier.
1946–160-A Q-Meter
This Q-Meter was produced by Boonton Radio Corporation, which HP acquired in 1959.
1948–400B Voltmeter
The 400B was based on a design originally made by Dave Packard in 1941.
1952–200AB Oscillator
The Model 200AB introduced advances in electrical and industrial design, all without an increase in price.
1952–200CD Oscillator
The Model 200CD's wide frequency coverage made it very valuable as a general purpose oscillator.
1956–DY-2500 Indicator, c.
The Model DY-2500 was the first instrument produced by Dynac, which was originally formed as a separate organization from HP.
1962–HP 196B Camera
The HP 196B had a Polaroid Land Camera back that produced finished photos in 10 seconds.
1964–680 Recorder, c.
The Moseley 680 strip chart recorder used a capillary-fed ink pen supplied from a replaceable ink cartridge or by a stylus on pressure-sensitive pape.
1965–HP 197A Camera
The HP 197A employed an electronically operated and timed shutter that provided accurate exposure times from roughly 1/60 seconds to 4 seconds.
1965–7101B Recorder
The Moseley 7101B provided 10-inch strip chart recording capabilities.
1968–9100A Calculator
The 9100A is the world's first programmable scientific desktop calculator.
1969–2116B Computer
The 2116B, shown above, is a later model of the 2116A, which was HP's first computer.
1972–HP-35 Calculator
The HP-35 Scientific Calculator was the world's first handheld scientific calculator and HP's first product that contained both integrated circuits and LEDs.
1972–Abacus HP-35, c.
As a joke, a group of employees gave Bill Hewlett this abacus disguised as an HP-35 electronic calculator.
1973–9862A Plotter
A peripheral for the 9800 series programmable desktop calculator, the 9862A x-y plotter could draw and write histograms, pie-charts and circuit diagrams.
1973–HP-80 Calculator
The HP-80 was HP's second handheld electronic calculator and its first business model.
1973–HP-45 Calculator
The HP-45 was HP's third handheld electronic calculator and the second scientific model.
1974–HP-65 Calculator
The HP-65 was HP's fourth handheld electronic calculator and its third scientific calculator.
1976–Plotter Model
The grit wheel plotter used sandpaper as a practical solution to an engineering problem.
1976–HP-97 Calculator
Code-named "Kitty Hawk," the HP-97 was popular with both business and technical users.
1977–HP-01
The HP-01 "calculator watch" performed more than three dozen functions to manipulate and interrelate time, calendar and numeric data.
1980–HP-85 Computer
The HP-85 was HP's first entry into the personal computer marketplace.
1981–HP-12C Calculator
The HP-12C has become the standard business calculator. It is still sold today.
1982–HP-75C Computer
The Hewlett-Packard-75C was Hewlett-Packard's first handheld computer.
1982–HP-86 Computer
The HP-86 contained all the features of the HP-85 but was not portable. A user had the option of using an external monitor via a built-in interface.
1983–HP-150 Computer
The HP-150 allowed users to activate a feature by touching the screen. The HP 9121 drives were the first commercially available 3-1/2 inch floppy-disk drives in the United States.
1983–HP-41CX Computer
The HP-41 calculator series introduced a new concept: the calculator as the core of a complete system, rather than a self-contained unit.
1984–ThinkJet Printer
The HP ThinkJet was the first mass-marketed personal inkjet printer. Inkjet technology spelled the end for the noisy dot-matrix printer.
1984–LaserJet Printer
The HP LaserJet was the world's first desktop laser printer.
1984–HP-110 Laptop
The HP-110 was HP's first laptop computer.
1985–Integral Computer
The Integral was a transportable, true multitasking HP-UX UNIX workstation with a real windowing display and a printer built in over the screen.
1986–HP-18C Calculator
The HP-18C was the first in a series of "clamshell" calculators produced by HP.
1988–Deskjet Printer
HP's first DeskJet printer offered continuous plain-paper printing and industry-standard print resolution.
1989–HP-32S Calculator
Introduced in 1988, the HP-32S was a popular calculator for science and engineering students.
1991–HP 95LX Palmtop
The HP 95LX was HP's first palmtop personal computer.
1993–HP Omnibook 300
Introduced as a "superportable" personal computer, the HP Omnibook 300 weighed only 2.9 pounds.
1995–HP 38G Calculator
The Hewlett-Packard 38G was designed with the help of an advisory committee of eight high school, community college and university teachers.
1995–HP Pavilion 5030
The HP Pavilion 5030 was HP's first multimedia PC designed specifically for the home market.
1997–Photosmart System
The HP PhotoSmart PC photography system was the first designed for home users. It included a photo printer, a photo scanner, a digital camera, photo paper and image-editing software.
1998–Jornada 820
The Jornada 820 was the first product that HP introduced in the Jornada line.
1999–Jornada 420
The Jornada 420 was HP's first pocket-size Jornada, and it was the first Microsoft Windows CE pocket-size PC with a color screen.
1999–HP 49G Calculator
The HP 49G had a step-by-step solve feature so students could see how to arrive at the correct answer.
2000–HP Pavilion 2000
Designed to be sold in Japan, this version of the HP Pavilion 2000 featured a small footprint for the space-conscious Japanese population.