American Business
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First March On Washington
The first march on Washington took place during what is referred to as The Gilded Age. A time period in American history spanning the years from 1870-1898 characterized by “economic inequality and technological innovation; conspicuous consumption and philanthropy; monopolistic power and populist rebellion”. A businessman from Ohio, Jacob Coxey, led the march consisting of unemployed men, Coxey’s Army, beginning with 100 men on March 25, 1894 in Massillon, Ohio. Gilded is not the same as golden. Gilded means having a thin gold coating. Read more about how the original Gilded Age is repeated in history. source: USA Today
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One of the Largest Financial Frauds in United States History
Bernie Madoff was at once family man, trusted friend, business success story, and one of the most notorious Ponzi Scheme Kingpins in history. His scheme devastated the lives of thousands including his own family. By all appearances the Madoffs were to be envied. They flew in private jets living the high life of luxury, but the stability of their American Dream was fragile built upon the shifty foundation of fraud. The decades long gig was finally up, when Madoff was arrested on December 11, 2008. He was surprised by the FBI in the early morning hours, while still dressed in his pajamas. Upon hearing the big confession his sons did not wait,…
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History of Smiley Face
The Smiley Face symbol’s origin was in 1963. It was created by graphic artist Harvey Ross Ball in Worcester, Massachusetts. Charles Ball Founder of Harvey Ball World Smile Foundation
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Kodak Founder George Eastman
George Eastman was not the inventor of the camera. His genius was in making the less than ideal camera that he first worked with as a bank employee at the age of 24 in 1878 better. Its awkward size was like a “soap box“. He made it smaller and introduced a compact rolled film with gelatin on a strip of paper. He innovated a new camera named the Kodak (1888). Source
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IBM’s Launch of Personal Computer Model 5150
Researching the history of the personal computer reveals how far along we have come, since IBM launched its first personal computer, model 5150, on August 12, 1981. It was an extravagant affair held at the New York Waldorf Astoria Hotel. The New York Times’ article in August of 1981, NEXT, A COMPUTER ON EVERY DESK, boasted of a “second generation of machines” with the ability to, “…use microprocessors capable of handling 16 ”bits,” or units of information, at the same time, twice the processing power of existing 8-bit machines. ” At 21 pounds and costing $1,565 the 5150 was a great success having much to do with a big advertising push that moved the…