1960s Highlights in American Business (incl. mergers)

Under Development

1960

• Theodore Maiman unveils first working laser; spurs innovation in printers, surgery, fiver optics communications, bar-code scanners, and CDs.

1961

• Ray Kroc buys the McDonald’s Brothers’ cheap burger business (in San Bernardino) of $2.7 million.
• New Jersey-based Block Drug (acquired by GSK PLC in 2000) creates Sensodyne toothpaste.

1962

• FOUR DISCOUNTER CASCADE: January – S.S. Kresge Co. opens Kmart in San Fernando, CA; May – Dayton-Hudson launches Target Stores in St. Paul, MN; July – Sam Walton, a veteran of discounter Benjamin Franklin, opens first Wal-Mart, in Rogers, AK; September – F.W. Woolworth starts Woolco in Columbus, OH.

1963

1964

1965

• Conglomerates Trend: consumer electronic and broadcasting giant Radio Corporation of America (RCA) buys Random House along with other unrelated companies including Banquet frozen foods & Hertz car rental. Ten years later in 1975, Gulf and Western buys publisher Simon & Schuster.
• Intelsat 1 starts service (June 28) with its “Early Bird” – introduces first commercial television across oceans!

1966

• CARS: Ford Motor introduces the Bronco to compete with the Toyota Land Cruiser (1960), International Harvestor’s Scout (1961), and Jeep’s CJ-5 (1964).

1967

1968

• Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) founded; leads to investor-owned hospital chains.
• The Pennsylvania, the New York Central, and the New Haven & Hartford Railroads merge to create the Penn Central, headquartered in Philadelphia; by 1970, the combined entity filed for the largest American bankruptcy to date.

1969

• Logistics: DHL founded in San Francisco; FedEx in Little Rock two years later (1971) – chase much older competitor United Parcel Service founded in 1907.

1970

• XEROX founds Palo Alto Research Center w/resources from copier business; leads to blizzard of computer innovations, incl. Ethernet.

1971

• Southwest Airlines starts flying (June 18): changes model of airlines with seating patterns and flying only B737s.
• Intel invents single chip microprocessor (4004), containing 2,300 transistors.

1972

1973

• Federal Express starts (April): revolutionizes delivery logistics
• Herbert Boyer (UCSF) & Stanley Cohen (Stanford) pioneer recombinant DNA technique: biotech industry born

1974

1975