Timeline of our history - Growth
1940's - 1960'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.
1960's - 1980's
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.
1980's - 2000's
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.
2000's - 2010's
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.