First Ford Model A Sold
July 23, 1903
Ford sells its first Model A car to Ernst Pfenning of Chicago, Illinois. This was Henry Ford’s 3rd attempt at creating a company that manufactured cars, incorporating just over a month earlier. The initial $28,000 investment was down to $300 before this first Model A was sold. However, it was the Model T that solidified Ford’s standing in automotive history.
The Unholy Alliance is Born
July 22, 1980
Representatives from an IBM facility in Boca Raton, Florida, where a small group of engineers were secretly developing the IBM PC, meet with Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer of Microsoft to discuss licensing software and an operating system for the still-developing PC. Not having an operating system to offer IBM, Microsoft will eventually buy the rights to QDOS/86-DOS from Seattle Computing Products, which they in-turn license to IBM as PC-DOS, and later license to PC clone makers as MS-DOS. This alliance between IBM and Microsoft forms one of the most dominant platforms in the history of computing, which goes on to crush nearly all other PC platforms in the 80’s and 90’s. Ironically this platform nearly crushes IBM itself as they lost control of the platform to PC clone makers and Microsoft.
Apple Passes $500 Billion Valuation
February 29, 2012
The stock value of Apple, Inc. surpasses $500 billion, setting a new record for the company which was already the world’s most valuable company at the time. This day marks a milestone on the historic run for the company from near-bankruptcy in the 1990’s to one of the most, if not the most, dominant technology company in recent history. Apple would later become the first company in history to surpass $700 billion in value in February 2015.
Tokyo Skytree Completed
February 29, 2012
Construction of the Tokyo Skytree broadcast tower, delayed two months due to the 2011 Japan earthquake and tsunami, is completed on leap day – February 29th, 2012. The Tokyo Skytree is the tallest structure in Japan and the world’s tallest tower.