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Google History Timeline


Timeline Description: Google was a company started by a couple of college kids with a big idea. It quickly caught on and grew into a successful and monstrous company, modeling the American dream.

DateEvent TitleEvent Description
1995The founders cross pathsLarry Page and Sergey Brin were college students at Stanford University. They met and became friends when Brin was assigned to show Larry around campus.
1996BackRub is bornThe two friends brainstormed ideas for a web engine that would make surfing the net easier and more efficient. They came up with an idea they called BackRub, but it failed after a year's trial.
1997PerseverancePage and Brin didn't give up when BackRub failed. They continued their efforts, eventually registering a website called "Google", which would organize all the information on the internet.
1998A successful yearThroughout the year, Brin and Page had many successful happenings, including their first investor, Andy Bechtolsheim. They incorporated Google, and they hired their first employee while working out of a garage.
December 1998A thumbs up from PC MagazineGoogle got a boost in advertising when PC Magazine reported they were excellent at finding relevant search material. Google was named a top 100 website for the year.
1999ExpansionGoogle's success continued growing at a very fast pace. They hired multiple employees throughout 1999, and were forced to move out of the garage space they'd been using and into a real work place.
May 2000Google wins awardsGoogle was awarded accolades by both users and experts. They were given the Webby Awards: Technical Achievement, and the People's Voice.
May 2000Other languagesGoogle's popularity spread around the globe. In May 2000, they released several versions of Google, including ten new languages.
July 2001Google ImagesGoogle opened a new facet of the company with Google Images. It allowed users to search for pictures, and had over 250 million images to offer.
February 2002Advertising on the webCompanies had been using web advertising for a few years, but Google revamped their AdWords offering with a new advertising idea. They incorporated a cost-per-click pricing that allowed companies to earn money every time someone clicked an ad.
2003Trying new thingsGoogle's expansion exploded at an unheard of rate. In 2003 they bought Blogger, a hugely successful platform; introduced Google Grants to help non-profit organizations; and started Google Print, which became Google Books.
May 2004Google Anita Borg ScholarshipGoogle wanted to continue giving back, so they opened the Google Anita Borg Scholarship. It gives scholarships to women who excel in computer sciences around the world.
August 2004Stock goes publicGoogle began offering stock shares to the public to be purchased on Wall Street. They initially offered over 19 million shares.
2005Google MapsGoogle Maps was a way for people to take live satellite looks at various places around the world. They eventually added Google Earth which enhanced these capabilities.
2006More expansionGoogle continued growing, adding applications for finance, calendars, hangouts, and analytics. They had a service for nearly anything a person could need on the internet.
2007A great place to workGoogle was named one of the top places to work in the country. In an effort to do all they could for employees, they began the "gbikes" program, providing bicycles for a healthy, efficient way for their employees to come to work.
2008Android phones and more(2008 and beyond)Google has continued to explode with success. They unveiled the apps compatible with the Android phones, as well as Google Chrome, and had over 1 billion active devices in 2013.