Key Dates:
- 1806: Company is founded by William Colgate in New York to make starch, soap, and candles.
- 1857: After founder's death, company becomes known as Colgate & Company.
- 1873: Toothpaste is first marketed.
- 1896: Collapsible tubes for toothpaste are introduced.
- 1898: B.J. Johnson Soap Company (later renamed Palmolive Company) introduces Palmolive soap.
- 1910: Colgate moves from original location to Jersey City, New Jersey.
- 1926: Palmolive merges with Peet Brothers, creating Palmolive-Peet Company.
- 1928: Colgate and Palmolive-Peet merge, forming Colgate-Palmolive-Peet Company.
- 1947: Fab detergent and Ajax cleanser are introduced.
- 1953: Company changes its name to Colgate-Palmolive Company.
- 1956: Corporate headquarters shifts back to New York.
- 1966: Palmolive dishwashing liquid is introduced.
- 1967: Sales top $1 billion.
- 1968: Colgate toothpaste is reformulated with fluoride; Ultra Brite is introduced.
- 1976: Hill's Pet Products is purchased.
- 1987: The Softsoap brand of liquid soap is acquired.
- 1992: The Mennen Company is acquired; Total toothpaste is introduced overseas.
- 1995: Latin American firm Kolynos Oral Care is acquired; Colgate-Palmolive undergoes major restructuring.
- 1997: Total toothpaste is launched in the United States; Colgate takes lead in domestic toothpaste market.
- 2004: Company acquires European oral care firm GABA Holding AG; major restructuring is launched.
Colgate Company of Jersey City, NJ from 1879 to 1959.
Colgate & Company had been a pioneer in establishing international operations, creating a Canadian subsidiary in 1913 and one in France in 1920. In the early 1920s the firm expanded into Australia, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Mexico. Colgate or its successor firm next created subsidiaries in the Philippines, Brazil, Argentina, and South Africa in the late 1920s. In 1937 the company moved into India and by the end of the 1940s had operations in most of South America. By 1939 Colgate-Palmolive-Peet's sales hit $100 million.
