Long before Hewlett-Packard was a Fortune 500 company with operations throughout the globe, it was the brainchild of two twenty-somethings doing the best they could with what they had. The company’s humble origins and its early years of operation, when Bill and Dave were still finding their way in the world but shared a vision […]

We opened the vault doors at the Hewlett-Packard Company Archives to share some of the greatest artifacts in our collection. Click through the videos to learn more about the products that revolutionized HP and the industry at large.

Hewlett-Packard was an early adopter of and innovator in ecologically sustainable business practices. Founders Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard were both avid outdoorsmen, and as people began to appreciate the importance of environmental responsibility in the 1960s, HP quickly incorporated sustainability into its vision of good citizenship. Throughout the ensuing decades, the company would refine […]

While Hewlett-Packard is revered for its groundbreaking products, it is also highly respected for the corporate culture instituted by its founders. Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard were highly engaged in the day-to-day operations of the company and encouraged this level of involvement across the board. Employees also were granted an unprecedented level of freedom as […]

The purchase of FL Moseley in 1958 marked the beginning of Hewlett-Packard’s legendary market presence in printing and imaging. In the ensuing years, the company launched pioneering product after product. From the introduction of desktop inkjet and LaserJet devices to commercial gift card printers, Hewlett-Packard consistently provided whatever hard copy output devices would allow people […]

Since 1939, Hewlett-Packard’s advertising evolved along with the company itself, adapting to communicate the value of the Hewlett-Packard’s offerings amid changing times and changing market segments. Those advertisements now provide their own record of the company’s growth and innovation.

At the core of Hewlett-Packard’s culture were Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard, two men who dedicated their professional lives to establishing and leading a new kind of company, one that reflected their values. As Hewlett-Packard thrived, Bill and Dave continued to share those values with the world both inside and outside of the boardroom. Their […]

Hewlett-Packard consistently valued its women employees and the contributions they made to the company’s success. But HP also operated within a national culture that afforded women fewer opportunities, created formal and informal barriers to their advancement and offered them less recognition than their male counterparts. As a result, HP’s efforts to create a more equitable […]

In the 1960s, HP transitioned from opposing discrimination to proactively fostering inclusion. While the company had always been ahead of the national climate in its approach to employing women and minorities, this transition was the beginning of a new era. Throughout the rest of its existence — and then through its successor companies, HP Inc. […]

Hewlett-Packard Company operated on policies of non-discrimination and respectful treatment of all people throughout its history. Racial equality, diversity and inclusion are ever-evolving concepts, however. As times changed and understandings of those concepts grew more sophisticated, HP changed and grew with them, so that the company looked very different by the early 2000s than it […]

As Hewlett-Packard continued to expand its product line, the company also branched out into international markets. Beginning in the late 1950s and continuing throughout the rest of its existence, Hewlett-Packard operated numerous corporate and production facilities around the globe, each of which faced unique challenges and opportunities. But regardless of where in the world this […]

Connections are a necessary aspect of completing work in the computer age, as user terminals need to be able to communicate with file, print, mail and web systems. These feats are accomplished with servers, devices that Hewlett-Packard has a rich history of working on and advancing. The commercial applications have proven endless and enabled Hewlett-Packard […]

Known for being an industry leader in computers, calculators and high technology, Hewlett-Packard has also made great strides in healthcare technology. Through the company’s own innovation and its successful Sanborn Division, HP has created products and technology that advance the medical and healthcare fields and make the world a healthier place for all. Learn more […]

As a company, Hewlett-Packard prided itself on its long history of innovation. The belief in breakthrough technology was baked into the company’s DNA at the start, when Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard founded the company with the idea of offering cutting-edge devices that solved problems and advanced the state of technology. Dedication to those principles […]

The rental property at 367 Addison Avenue in Palo Alto, CA, where Hewlett-Packard was born in 1939 played an important role in the history of Hewlett-Packard and the American tech industry. However, by the year 2000 the property long recognized as “the birthplace of Silicon Valley” was showing its age. Wanting to preserve its heritage, […]

Hewlett-Packard played an integral role in making the personal computer a common element of modern life. The company began by developing desktop computers for businesses, providing a level of functionality that established the machines’ potential to improve the way people worked. It then branched out into offering computers that consumers could use to improve the […]

With the ever-expanding use of computers came an ever-increasing need to store the information they processed and transfer it from one device to another. From magnetic tapes to cloud computing, Hewlett-Packard ensured that the evolution of storage media kept up with the need for it. The company also pursued the continuing evolution of computer networking […]

Pride in the brand was a fixture at Hewlett-Packard, as was a playful spirit. Both traits are in abundance in this collection of toys and apparel, which allowed the company to spread word of its accomplishments in fun and colorful ways.

The story of Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard starting Hewlett-Packard in a garage on Addison Avenue is widely known across the industry, but as demand for their technology grew, they were soon forced to move on to bigger and better facilities. Regardless of where and when it expanded, Hewlett-Packard maintained a unique and innovative production […]

Even as Hewlett-Packard continued to grow, the company and its founders made giving back to the community a priority. These efforts started small but increased in size and scope as the company expanded and matured. With charity being valued across Hewlett-Packard, organizations such as the Family Giving Tree and the United Way benefited as employees […]

The personal computing revolution began with calculators, and Hewlett-Packard led the way. Year after year, the company released devices that revolutionized the data processing power available to individuals while incorporating other important features, such as portability and affordability, that bolstered the technology’s adoption. See how the company transformed the technology over time to empower individuals […]

Every company reaches milestones in its life, moments that mark its growth and indicate its future. Explore the progression of Hewlett-Packard Company with this collection, which chronicles major developments in the company’s continuing growth from the hiring of the company’s first employee to its inclusion on the Fortune 500 list.

In the 2010s, Hewlett-Packard became a leader in the development and commercialization of 3D printing and additive manufacturing technology. The company’s innovations would change design and manufacturing so dramatically as to help usher in a “Fourth Industrial Revolution” while generating a new creative medium.

The increasing portability of personal computing technology has been crucial for its proliferation throughout modern life. Since at least the launch of the HP 35 “pocket calculator” in 1972, Hewlett-Packard has been at the forefront of this trend, pushing the envelope of functionality on the move.

As wristwatches made the transition from analog to digital, Hewlett-Packard saw an opportunity to push the limits of the technology and began applying its extensive knowledge and experience to the development of wearable technology. In doing so, HP pioneered a new type of product: the smartwatch. As technology and consumer tastes progressed, the company incorporated […]

The road into the tech industry has not historically been a smooth one for women. Even though women made profoundly important contributions from the earliest days of Silicon Valley, those contributions were often overlooked, minimized, or even hidden. At Hewlett-Packard, however, vintage company publications and photographs can tell us a great deal about the crucial […]

Like many American companies at that time, Hewlett-Packard did what it could to help the government and the military during World War II. These war efforts promoted research that would advance crucial technologies and supported initiatives on the homefront. In addition, the company’s founders also led by example during this formative period in American history, […]

Hewlett-Packard began by offering instruments for engineering and scientific research. These devices, including the initial oscilloscopes designed by Bill Hewlett, offered unmatched accuracy and reliability and were crucial in first establishing Hewlett-Packard’s reputation for innovation and quality. The company continued to focus heavily on instruments for decades. Indeed, when the company eventually entered the market […]

The culture of innovation at Hewlett-Packard reaches well beyond its development of cutting-edge computer technology. In fact, Hewlett-Packard has a long history of innovative marketing strategies that have delivered effective brand messaging to consumers while promoting the company’s incredible line of products. As Hewlett-Packard built its reputation on technological breakthroughs, the brand leveraged these advancements […]

As a company that dated back to 1939 and carried a stunning record of achievement, Hewlett-Packard celebrated many anniversaries and milestones. The company honored these moments with commemorative items to be distributed among customers and/or employees. These collected mementos now serve as a physical record of the company’s pride in its accomplishments.

As a company renowned around the world for innovation, excellence and a unique company culture, over the years Hewlett-Packard attracted the curiosity of several famous visitors who requested a tour of the company’s facilities. The esteemed list of guests included celebrities, politicians and even monarchs who wanted to better understand the HP Way. The images […]