COMPANY·HISTORIES
SIC 2731

Books, Publishing

How the companies in this industry began, and the forces that shaped them.

34companies1786–1997founding years34still active0no longer operating
§ 01

The industry over time

Companies foundedEconomyTechnologyEnvironmentHistory
FoundedHer Majesty's Stationery Office
1786
FoundedHarperCollins Publishers
1817
FoundedThe Chronicle Publishing Company, Inc.
1865
FoundedThe Times Mirror Company
1884
FoundedWaverly, Inc.
1892
FoundedInsilco Corporation
1898
1903
TechnologyThe Wright brothers achieve powered flight.
FoundedGroupe Les Echos
1908
1914
EconomyWorld War I begins; global trade reorders.
FoundedWorld Book, Inc.
1917
FoundedHarcourt General, Inc.
1919
FoundedZiff Communications Company
1927
FoundedThe Bureau of National Affairs, Inc.
1929
EconomyThe stock market crashes; the Great Depression spreads worldwide.
1939
EconomyWorld War II begins; wartime production surges.
FoundedEl Corte Inglés Group
1940
1945
EconomyThe war ends; a long global expansion begins.
1947
TechnologyThe transistor is invented.
FoundedPetersen Publishing Company
1949
1958
TechnologyThe integrated circuit is demonstrated.
1962
EnvironmentSilent Spring launches the modern environmental movement.
FoundedInternational Data Group, Inc.
1964
1971
EconomyThe dollar leaves the gold standard; currencies float.
1973
EconomyThe OPEC oil embargo triggers a global shock.
1975
TechnologyThe personal-computer era begins.
1979
EconomyA second oil crisis drives inflation higher worldwide.
FoundedTom Doherty Associates Inc.
1980
1981
TechnologyThe IBM PC launches and sets a standard.
1984
TechnologyApple ships the Macintosh; the GUI era begins.
FoundedAxel Springer Verlag AG
1985
1987
EconomyBlack Monday: markets fall sharply around the world.
FoundedPrimedia Inc.
1989
HistoryThe Berlin Wall falls; global markets open up.
1991
TechnologyThe World Wide Web is released to the public.
FoundedThe L.L. Knickerbocker Co., Inc.
1993
TechnologyThe Mosaic browser brings the web to everyone.
1995
TechnologyWindows 95 launches; the internet goes mainstream.
1997
EconomyThe Asian financial crisis rattles global markets.
EnvironmentThe Kyoto Protocol sets the first climate targets.
2000
EconomyThe dot-com bubble bursts.
2004
TechnologySocial media and Web 2.0 take hold.
2007
TechnologyThe iPhone launches the smartphone era.
2008
EconomyThe global financial crisis freezes credit worldwide.
2010
TechnologyCloud computing goes mainstream for business.
2015
EnvironmentThe Paris Agreement sets global climate targets.
2020
EconomyThe COVID-19 pandemic upends the global economy.
2022
EconomyInflation spikes; central banks raise rates sharply.
2023
TechnologyGenerative AI reaches mainstream business use.
§ 02

The companies

Her Majesty's Stationery Office →
Active · founded 1786 · United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Stationery Office, or HMSO, is an unusual type of company that, although owned and operated by the…
HarperCollins Publishers →
Active · founded 1817
For nearly 170 years the Harper name has been synonymous with the printed word, having cradled American publishing from…
Bertelsmann AG →
Active · founded 1835 · Germany
Bertelsmann AG is the largest media group in Germany and Europe, and the second-largest in the world to the U.S.-based…
The Chronicle Publishing Company, Inc. →
Active · founded 1865
Publisher of The San Francisco Chronicle, The Chronicle Publishing Company, Inc.
Justin Industries, Inc. →
Active · founded 1879
Justin Industries, Inc.
The Times Mirror Company →
Active · founded 1884
The Times Mirror Company ranks among the top five newspaper companies in the United States.
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. →
Active · founded 1889
Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
Waverly, Inc. →
Active · founded 1892
Waverly, Inc.
Macmillan, Inc. →
Active · founded 1896
Macmillan has been a distinguished name in publishing for more than 150 years.
Insilco Corporation →
Active · founded 1898
Formerly the largest silver company in the world, Insilco Corporation is no longer involved in the silver business, but…
Thomas Publishing Company →
Active · founded 1898
Celebrating its centennial in 1998, Thomas Publishing Company is a niche reference book publisher dedicated to…
Groupe Les Echos →
Active · founded 1908 · France
A member of British media giant the Pearson Group since 1988, Groupe Les Echos is among France's leading financial and…
Western Publishing Group, Inc. →
Active · founded 1910
Western Publishing Group, Inc.
World Book, Inc. →
Active · founded 1917
World Book, Inc.
Harcourt Brace and Co. →
Active · founded 1919
Harcourt Brace and Co.
Harcourt General, Inc. →
Active · founded 1919
Through its core publishing arm, Harcourt General, Inc.
Simon & Schuster Inc. →
Active · founded 1924
Simon & Schuster Inc.
Ziff Communications Company →
Active · founded 1927
Ziff Communications Company was a major force in American magazine publishing for more than 65 years.
The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. →
Active · founded 1929
The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc.
Grolier Inc. →
Active · founded 1936
Grolier Inc.
El Corte Inglés Group →
Active · founded 1940 · Spain
El Corte Inglés, S.A.
Farrar, Straus and Giroux Inc. →
Active · founded 1946
Farrar, Straus and Giroux Inc.
Petersen Publishing Company →
Active · founded 1949
A rising force in the publishing industry, Petersen Publishing Company publishes a host of monthly, bimonthly,…
Tatung Co. →
Active · founded 1957 · Taiwan
With ten domestic plants and nearly 20,000 employees, Tatung Co.
International Data Group, Inc. →
Active · founded 1964
Over the course of some 30 years, Patrick J.
Dorling Kindersley Holdings plc →
Active · founded 1974 · United Kingdom
For nearly a quarter-century, Dorling Kindersley Holdings plc (DK) has focused on creating an enduring catalog of over…
Tom Doherty Associates Inc. →
Active · founded 1980
Tom Doherty Associates Inc.
Cadmus Communications Corporation →
Active · founded 1984
Cadmus Communications Corporation was named after the Greek mythological figure who founded Thebes and introduced the…
Axel Springer Verlag AG →
Active · founded 1985 · Germany
Over the course of its more than 50 years in business, Axel Springer Verlag AG has evolved from a publisher of local…
Bloomberg L.P. →
Active · founded 1986
Bloomberg L.P.
Primedia Inc. →
Active · founded 1989
Primedia Inc.
IDG Books Worldwide, Inc. →
Active · founded 1990
The fastest growing computer book publisher of the 1990s, IDG Books Worldwide, Inc.
The L.L. Knickerbocker Co., Inc. →
Active · founded 1993 · www.knickerbocker.com
L.L.
Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, L.L.C. →
Active · founded 1997
Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, L.L.C.
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