Business from 1965 to the present By Lauren Souder Period: Jan 1, 1865 to Sep 2, 2013 Business from 1865 to present Jan 1, 1870 John D. Rockefeller founds Standard Oil Mar 10, 1876 Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone Dec 1, 1879 Thomas Edison's invention of the incandescent lighting system Feb 4, 1887 Interstate Commerce Act Jul 2, 1890 Sherman Antitrust Act Jan 1, 1892 Andrew Carnegie forms Carnegie Steel Dec 17, 1903 Wright Brothers first flight Feb 8, 1909 Bakelite is introduced (plastic) May 15, 1911 Supreme Court orders Standard Oil dissolved Dec 1, 1913 Ford introduces the assembly line Dec 23, 1913 Federal Reserve System enacted Aug 15, 1914 The Panama Canal opens Oct 15, 1914 Clayton Antitrust Act Jan 1, 1915 Carrier Engineering is founded, beginning the commercialization of air conditioning May 20, 1927 Charles Lindbergh's Flight Jan 1, 1928 The explosion of RCA's stock epitomizes market mania Sep 1, 1928 Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin Oct 29, 1929 Oct. The Great Crash of 1929 Aug 4, 1930 The first U.S. supermarket, King Kullen, opens Jan 1, 1933 1933 – 1941 – New Deal programs instituted by FDR Dec 30, 1936 The United Auto Workers stage their first sit-down strikes Jan 1, 1939 David Packard and William Hewlett established an electronics company in Silicon Valley Apr 20, 1939 The first commercial television broadcast Jan 1, 1941 1941-45: Rosie the Riveter campaign brings women to the factory work force Jun 22, 1944 FDR signs the GI Bill of Rights Jan 1, 1946 University of Penn creates the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer Jan 1, 1946 The baby boom begins Dec 23, 1947 First transistor created Jul 17, 1955 Disneyland opens Jun 29, 1956 President DwighEisenhower signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 Jan 1, 1957 The first Japanese car, a Toyota, is sold in the U.S Jan 1, 1958 Bank of America launches the first credit card Jan 1, 1961 Kroc buys McDonald's Mar 15, 1962 Consumer Bill of Rights Jul 2, 1962 The first Wal-Mart opens Jul 2, 1964 The Civil Rights Act Jul 30, 1965 President Johnson signs Medicare into law Sep 6, 1966 Motor Vehicle Safety Act Dec 2, 1970 National Environmental Policy Act Aug 15, 1971 Termination of gold/dollar standard Nov 1, 1971 Intel invents the single-chip microprocessor Jan 7, 1979 Chrysler Corporation Loan Guarantee Act of 1979 signed into law Nov 5, 1980 Reagan is elected President Jan 1, 1981 Microsoft is tapped to provide the IBM operating system Aug 12, 1981 IBM released the first PC Nov 9, 1989 The Berlin Wall falls. End of the Cold War Jan 1, 1994 North American Fair Trade Agreement (NAFTA) Aug 9, 1995 Netscape goes public Jan 1, 1999 European Union introduced its new currency, the euro Sep 11, 2001 Attack on the World Trade Center. War on Terror begins Jan 1, 2008 Mortgage bubble bursts/beginning of the Great Recession Dec 1, 2008 $700 Billion Bank Bailout Bill Jan 1, 2009 Over 10% unemployment
