Xerox Newsroom
Online Fact Book
Historical Highlights
1906
Chester Carlson, inventor of xerography, is born in Seattle, Feb. 8.
The Haloid Company is founded in Rochester, N.Y., to manufacture and sell photographic paper, April 18.
1935
Haloid buys Rectigraph Co.
1936
First public offering of Xerox stock, Sept. 16.
1938
Chester Carlson makes first xerographic image in his lab in Astoria, Queens, in New York City, Oct. 22.
1942
Carlson receives U.S. patent No. 2,297,691 on Oct. 6 for electrophotography, later called xerography, the technology that revolutionized the world of imaging.
1947
Haloid acquires license to Chester Carlson's basic xerographic patents from Battelle Development Corp. of Columbus, Ohio, a subsidiary of Battelle Memorial Institute.
1948
Haloid and Battelle announce development of xerography.
The word "Xerox" is trademarked.
First of 213 consecutive quarterly dividends is declared.
1949
The first xerographic copier, the Model A, is introduced.
1953
Haloid establishes Canadian sales subsidiary, The Haloid Company of Canada Ltd.
1956
Rank Xerox Limited is formed as joint venture of The Haloid Company and The Rank Organisation plc.
1958
The Haloid Company changes name to Haloid Xerox Inc., April 16.
1959
The Xerox 914, the first automatic, plain-paper office copier, is announced.
Haloid purchases all worldwide patents on xerography from Battelle Memorial Institute.
1960
Research and Engineering Center is established in Webster, N.Y.
1961
Haloid Xerox Inc. changes name to Xerox Corporation, April 18.
Xerox is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, July 11. Some 7,700 shares are traded, and the stock closes at $104 for the day.
1962
Fuji Xerox Co. Ltd. is launched as a joint venture of Rank Xerox Limited and Fuji Photo Film Co. Ltd.
1963
Micro-Systems Inc. is acquired.
Electro-Optical Systems Inc. is acquired.
1964
Xerox acquires patent and marketing rights to Central and South America from The Rank Organisation.
1965
Basic Systems Inc. is acquired; renamed Xerox Learning Systems.
Xerox acquires American Education Publications Inc.; renamed Xerox Education Publications; publications include Weekly Reader.
Rank Xerox opens manufacturing plant in Venray, Netherlands.
1966 Professional Library Service is acquired.
Learning Materials Inc. is acquired.
1967
Cheshire Inc. is acquired.
R.R. Bowker Co. is acquired.
1968
Ginn and Company is acquired.
Chester Carlson dies Sept. 19.
1969
Xerox moves its corporate headquarters from Rochester, N.Y., to Stamford, Conn. About 150 employees, including most of the company's executive management, relocate there.
Scientific Data Systems Inc. is acquired.
Xerox acquires majority interest (51.2 percent) in Rank Xerox.
1970
Xerox Computer Services is established.
Xerox Palo Alto Research Center opens in Palo Alto, Calif.
Electrostatic printing is introduced.
1971
Unipub Inc. is acquired.
Joseph C. Wilson, chairman of the board, dies Nov. 22.
Fuji Xerox acquires Takematsu and Iwatsuki manufacturing plants in Japan and opens manufacturing and research plant in Ebina, Japan.
1972
Diablo Systems Inc. is acquired.
1973
Xerox PARC invents prototype of the world's first personal computer, the Alto, with innovations including the first what-you-see-is-what-you-get editor, first commercial use of a mouse, graphical user interface, and bit-mapped display. Its commercial descendant was the 8010 Star.
1974
Xerox International Center for Training and Management Development opens in Leesburg, Va.
Xerox Research Centre of Canada in Mississauga, Ontario, opens.
Rank Xerox opens new factory in Coslada, Spain, and new assembly plant in Lille, France.
1975
"Brother Dominic" advertising campaign is launched: "It's a Miracle."
Versatec Inc. is acquired.
Xerox ends manufacture and sale of mainframe computers.
Xerox settles antitrust complaint with U.S. Federal Trade Commission by agreeing to license existing xerographic patents.
1976
Last Xerox 914 order is taken; field service on the machine is to continue.
1977 (June 1)
The industry's first laser printer, the Xerox 9700 (code-named Dover), is announced.
1978
Xerox receives $25 million from IBM in agreement that ends litigation and leads to exchange of patent licenses between the two companies.
1979
Xerox Credit Corporation is formed.
1980
Kurzweil Computer Products Inc., maker of reading systems for the blind, is acquired.
First Xerox retail store in the United States opens.
Fuji Xerox wins Deming Prize, Japan's highest award for quality.
1982
The 10 Series copiers are inaugurated: the industry's first to use built-in microcomputers with a low-bandwidth Ethernet as the communications interface.
1983
Xerox acquires Crum and Forster Inc., the insurance group, part of the company's diversification into financial services.
Xerox sells 43 of the 54 Xerox retail stores in the United States to The Genra Group.
Leadership Through Quality, the Xerox total quality process, is announced.
Venray manufacturing facility wins CIMEI Quality Award in the Netherlands.
Large-format digital color printing is introduced.
1984
Xerox Financial Services Inc. is formed.
Rank Xerox wins British Quality Award.
1985
Six publishing companies are sold: AutEx Systems to International Thomson Organisation; Ginn and Company to Gulf+Western Industries Inc.; Xerox Education Publications to Field Corp.; University Microfilms Inc. to Bell & Howell Co.; R.R. Bowker Co. to Reed Holdings Inc.; and Xerox Learning Systems to The Times Mirror Co.
Xerox Financial Services Life Insurance Co. is formed.
1986
Xerox registers www.xerox.com as its Internet domain name, Jan. 9.
Xerox Research Centre Europe (formerly Rank Xerox EuroPARC) opens laboratory in Cambridge, U.K.
Rank Xerox wins British Quality Award, its second.
1987
Rank Xerox South Africa Pty. Ltd. is sold to Fintech Ltd.; becomes Xeratech.
Rank Xerox France wins French Quality Award.
Rank Xerox opens new international headquarters in Marlow, U.K.
1988
Xerox acquires Datacopy Corp.
Marketing agreement with Sears, Roebuck & Co. is signed.
Two-millionth Xerox copier is produced.
The Xerox 50 Series of copiers is launched to recognize 50th anniversary of xerography.
1989
Xerox ceases manufacturing personal computers/workstations, which were based on technology developed in the 8010 Star.
Soviet Union's first public copy center opens in joint venture with division of Soviet State Publishing.
Xerox Business Products and Systems organization wins Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award in the United States.
Xerox Canada wins Canadian national quality award.
1990
U.S. government endorses Xerox Encryption Unit, an electronic device that encodes computer signals for secure transmission.
Xerox Desktop Software Inc. acquires Ventura Software.
Venray, Netherlands, manufacturing facility receives British Assurance Certification for commitment to quality, the first non-British Xerox plant so recognized.
Demand Book Binding Systems Inc. is formed; later renamed ChannelBind Corp.
Rank Xerox ends distribution agreement with Xeratech Limited of South Africa.
Total Satisfaction Guarantee program is announced.
"Putting It Together" advertising campaign is launched.
Fuji Xerox takes over Rank Xerox operations in Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand and Singapore.
Xerox Mexicana S.A. de C.V. wins Premio Nacional de Calidad, the Mexican national quality award.
Rank Xerox Australia wins Outstanding Service Quality Improvement Award of Australia.
1991
Collection and recycling of copy cartridges begin.
Recycled paper for use in Xerox products is introduced.
Color research lab in Webster, N.Y., opens.
Xerox and Fuji Xerox form Xerox International Partners to market desktop and workgroup printers worldwide.
1992
Rank Xerox wins the first European Quality Award.
Xerox wins Gold Medal for International Corporate Environmental Achievement from the World Environment Center.
1993
Rank Xerox Research Centre (now Xerox Research Centre Europe) established in Grenoble, France.
Xerox announces decision to exit the insurance business and other financial services.
Xerox International Center for Training and Management Development renamed Xerox Document University.
Xerox offers 7 million additional shares of common stock.
Partnership with Microsoft Corp. to integrate personal computers and document processing products is announced.
Crum and Forster, the commercial property and casualty insurance company under Xerox Financial Services Inc., is renamed Talegen Holdings Inc. and is restructured into seven stand-alone operating groups.
Worldwide company restructuring, including 10 percent reduction in work force, is announced.
Xerox do Brasil Ltda. wins National Quality Award in Brazil.
1994
"The Document Company -- Xerox" is unveiled as new corporate signature; partially digitized, red "X" introduced as new corporate symbol; red replaces blue as the corporate color.
Rank Xerox Norway wins the first Norwegian Quality Award. Xerox Argentina wins Argentina's first National Quality Award.
Electronic Data Systems wins $3.2 billion contract to operate the Xerox worldwide computer and telecommunications network.
1995
Xerox pays The Rank Organisation plc nearly $1 billion to increase Xerox's financial stake in Rank Xerox to about 80 percent.
Glass Ceiling Commission gives Xerox the first Perkins-Dole National Award for Diversity and Excellence in American Executive Management.
Xerox wins Environmental Achievement Award from National Wildlife Federation.
Xerox and Scitex Corp. Ltd. of Israel form alliance to develop digital color printers.
Xerox wins $30 million contract from U.S. Navy to be the sole supplier of shipboard copiers.
U.S. Labor Department honors Xerox with its Opportunity 2000 Award, citing the company's success in promoting women and minorities into management.
Xerox ColorgrafX Systems formed; leads Xerox into the graphic arts industry.
1996
Xerox begins treating insurance operations as discontinued operations for accounting purposes in accordance with its planned exit from financial services businesses.
Board of directors authorizes repurchase of up to $1 billion in Xerox common stock.
Xerox creates dpiX as a wholly owned subsidiary to manufacture and market high-resolution, flat panel display screens developed at PARC.
Document Sciences Corp., a Xerox technology spinoff company, goes public.
American Foundation for the Blind recognizes Xerox with its Helen Keller Award in Assistive Technology for the company's Reading Edge machine and for pioneering products that help the blind lead independent lives.
1997
Xerox South Africa is created as joint venture between Xerox and Fintech, an electronics company. Xerox had been selling its products in South Africa through Fintech since 1994, after the fall of apartheid.
Xerox and Fuji Xerox endow the Xerox Distinguished Professorship in Knowledge at Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley.
Rank Xerox is renamed Xerox Limited, as Xerox buys out its European partner in the joint venture with The Rank Group.
Xerox and the University of Barcelona (Spain) establish laboratory for collaborative research on magnetic materials.
Xerox Business Services wins Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award in the service category, the second Baldrige Award for Xerox Corporation.
Xerox Adaptive Products Inc., maker of technology products for the blind, is sold to Telesensory Corp.
All major manufacturing sites worldwide receive ISO 14001 certification.
1998
XLConnect Solutions Inc., an information technology services company, is acquired for $415 million, renamed Xerox Connect.
Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited of Toronto agrees to acquire Crum and Forster Holdings Inc. The deal effectively completes Xerox's exit from the insurance business.
Xerox aligns with nation's leading office product suppliers: U.S. Office Products, Office Depot, Boise Cascade Office Products, Corporate Express and Staples, to offer Xerox paper and supplies.
The biggest anechoic chamber in the Western Hemisphere opens in the Xerox Webster, N.Y., manufacturing facility. The state-of-the-art room is designed to test Xerox products for electromagnetic interference.
Xerox announces plans to build a manufacturing site in Dundalk, Ireland, and a new customer call center in Dublin -- a $270 million investment.
Xerox and IBM announce a technology and marketing agreement to marry IBM's Lotus Notes and Domino electronic document management environment with the Xerox Document Centre family.
Working Mother magazine names Xerox one of the Top 100 "exceptionally progressive" companies for which to work.
1999
Xerox acquires SET Electronique, a European developer and distributor of high-speed digital printers.
Xerox and the town of Webster, N.Y., agreement ends 1992-1994 tax assessment litigation. This results in refunds to Xerox of $9.7 million, including interest ($6.5 million before interest).
dpiX, a former Xerox New Enterprise Company, is purchased by dpiX Holding Company LLC, owned by Planar Systems Inc. and a consortium. Xerox retains a 20 percent interest in dpiX.
Xerox acquires Omnifax from Danka Business Systems.
Xerox experiences the worst day in the company's history with the fatal shootings of seven employees in the Honolulu, Hawaii, facility.
Xerox partners with Bertlesman Arvato Ag, one of the world's leading international book producers, to deploy digital print-on-demand technology and solutions worldwide.
2000
Xerox acquires Tektronix Inc.'s Color Printing and Imaging Division for $925 million.
Launch of the next-generation DocuColor 2000 Series of digital color presses. About 5,000 are sold in the next two years.
Xerox and Hewlett-Packard settle all patent-infringement cases, including the six patent-related lawsuits filed between May 1998 and June 1999.
Xerox sells Xerox Document University campus to WXIII Oxford-DTC Real Estate LLC. Xerox will lease back part of XDU and continue to host education and learning events.
An Olympic first: At the Sydney 2000 Summer Games, Xerox, an official sponsor, burned the results of every competition onto CD-ROMs, creating electronic results books.
Xerox details aggressive turnaround plan with actions centered on improved cash flow and profitability -- cutting $1 billion in costs and selling $2 billion to $4 billion of assets -- while working toward strengthening its core businesses.
Xerox seals $310 million deal with Kinko's Inc., providing them with more than 2,000 of the latest Xerox digital color products, high-speed digital printers, and black-and-white digital multifunction machines.
Xerox completes sale of Xerox (China) Ltd. and Xerox (Hong Kong) Ltd. for $550 million in cash to Fuji Xerox Co. Ltd.
2001
Xerox sells half of its stake in Fuji Xerox Co. Ltd. to Fuji Photo Film Co. Ltd., for more than $1.3 billion. Xerox retains 25 percent ownership interest, and all product and technology agreements between Xerox and Fuji Xerox continue.
Xerox announces it will exit the SOHO (small office/home office) business segment to sharpen the company's focus.
Xerox eliminates stock dividend.
Xerox begins to transfer office manufacturing operations to Flextronics, an electronics manufacturing services company.
2002
Anne M. Mulcahy becomes Xerox chairman.
Xerox incorporates Palo Alto Research Center Inc. as a wholly owned Xerox research company. Xerox continues to embed relevant PARC technology into its offerings.
"A New Way to Look at It™" advertising campaign launches.
Digital imaging and repository services facility in Hot Springs, Ark., expands and more than quadruples its production capacity.
Settlement agreement reached with the Securities and Exchange Commission, resolving all outstanding accounting issues with the SEC. Xerox neither admits nor denies the SEC’s allegations, and agrees to restate its financials for 1997 through 2000 and adjust 2001 results.
$7 billion revolving line of credit successfully renegotiated, reflecting Xerox’s strengthened financial position and improved operational performance.
2002 marks Xerox’s most significant product launch year in a decade, with 17 new products and five product platforms, including the: Xerox iGen3 Digital Production Press.
Xerox and General Electric agree to an 8-year financing arrangement for GE Vendor Financial Services to become the primary equipment financing provider for Xerox customers in the United States through monthly advances against Xerox's new U.S. lease originations.
Xerox earns its 15,000th utility patent, Sept. 17.
Building on Xerox's heritage in quality processes, Xerox Lean Six Sigma deployment begins.
Xerox returns to full-year profitability, resulting from successful implementation of its transformation plan in October 2000.
2003
Xerox Copier Assistant software launches, which makes it easier for people who are blind or visually impaired to operate a digital copier.
Xerox joins Microsoft and others as a founding sponsor of the Information Work Productivity Center at MIT; the center is to study how organizations can take advantage of technology to increase productivity.
The IEEE recognizes Xerox with the 2003 Corporate Innovation Recognition award, "for its DocuTech product line, which unified digital electronics, computing and communications with xerography to create the print-on-demand industry." The prestigious award is presented annually "for outstanding and exemplary contributions" in electrotechnology.
Reflecting strong investor confidence, Xerox completes a $3.6 billion recapitalization that includes public offerings of common stock, 3-year mandatory convertible preferred stock, and 7-year and 10-year senior unsecured notes as well as a new $1 billion credit facility. Demand for the offerings exceeds initial expectations, further strengthening Xerox's balance sheet.
Xerox and General Electric agree to a 7-year agreement for GE VFS Canada Limited Partnership, a unit of GE Commercial Finance, to become the primary equipment financing provider for Xerox customers in Canada, through monthly prepayments against Xerox's customer contract originations.
Xerox delivers 100th iGen3 Digital Production Press.
2004
Two groundbreaking technology platforms launch: Xerox Nuvera digital copier-printers that create a new mid-production market segment, and the Phaser 8400, the industry's first office color printer that runs at 24 ppm in color or black-and-white and costs under $1,000.
Bolstering its No. 1 market share position in digital production color printing, Xerox achieves 10,000th installation of DocuColor 2000 Series presses.
Xerox sells its ownership stakes in askOnce and Scansoft and the majority of its stake in ContentGuard Inc., successfully monetizing innovation that originated in its labs.
At the world's largest printing trade show, drupa 2004, Xerox rolls out seven digital systems, an expanded suite of services, and workflow tools that reinvent traditional ways of printing and drive profit for customers.
Xerox marks its 40th and final year of Olympic sponsorship as a Top Olympic Partner, documenting the legacy of the 2004 Summer Games in Athens, Greece.
Xerox's iGen3 presses installed worldwide reach a milestone of printing more than 1 billion pages since the system's launch.
Xerox transforms its corporate signature logo to be depicted simply as "XEROX." The new logo replaces "The Document Company - Xerox" corporate signature, adopted in 1994.
First-ever Innovate in France Award from the French government's Invest in France Agency is granted to Xerox.
2005 (Through May)
Sumitomo Mitsui Card Co. of Japan installs 24 Xerox iGen3 Digital Production Presses, the world's largest single iGen3 installation.
The Gil Hatch Center for Customer Innovation, a 100,000-square-foot showcase of digital production printing technology, opens in Webster, N.Y.
Patrons of Brooklyn Public Library begin to easily access library materials, print/copy privileges and more thanks to a debit-based library card and kiosk system designed by Xerox.
"Color Everywhere" strategy strengthens with a new multimillion-dollar color-focused advertising campaign, a faster and more powerful iGen3 Digital Production Press, and the WorkCentre C2424, the industry's first color multifunction system with Xerox-patented solid ink technology.
Xerox makes a voluntary pledge to cut greenhouse gas emissions from its worldwide operations by 10 percent from 2002 to the end of 2012.
Sunoco Inc. chooses Xerox to digitize 5 million hardcopy documents to improve productivity and records management.
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