Crayola

Crayola is a brand of crayons and other writing and drawing utensils, such as markers, chalk, and colored pencils manufactured by Binney & Smith Inc.

Timeline

A timeline of Crayola's history:

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• 1864: Joseph Binney founds Peekskill Chemical Works in upstate New York for producing charcoal and lamp black.
• 1880: Joseph Binney sets up headquarters in New York City, joined by son Edwin Binney and nephew C. Harold Smith.
• 1885: Joseph Binney retires; Edwin and C. Harold Smith, form a partnership and call their company Binney & Smith. Early products include red oxide pigment used in barn paint and carbon black used for car tires. During this time, Binney & Smith took an active role in the development and production of carbon black from natural gas, after natural gas deposits were found throughout Pennsylvania.
• 1900: The company begins producing slate school pencils in its newly opened Easton, Pennsylvania mill. It introduces the first dustless school chalk two years later. The product wins a gold medal at the St. Louis World Exposition.
• 1902: Binney & Smith incorporates September 30, in Easton, Pennsylvania, and serves as general distributor for several carbon black producers, introducing carbon black to other countries.
• 1903: Noticing a need for safe, quality, and affordable wax crayons, the company produces the first box of eight Crayola crayons containing red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet, brown, and black sticks. It sells for a nickel. The Crayola name, coined by Edwin Binney's wife Alice, comes from craie, the French word for chalk, and ola, from oleaginous.
• 1920: Crayola Rubens Crayons for Art Students and Perma Pressed Sharpenable Fine Art Crayons are added to the growing product line, which also includes new Artista brand paints.
• 1936: Binney & Smith becomes a founding member of the Crayon, Watercolor, and Craft Institute, promoting product safety in art materials.
• 1948: To educate art teachers about the many ways to use the growing number of Crayola products, a teacher workshop program begins to offer in-school training across the country.
• 1952: A Binney & Smith factory in Winfield, Kansas opens to handle the company's growing business.
• 1958: The 64-color assortment of Crayola crayons—with a built-in sharpener—debuts.
• 1961: Binney & Smith becomes a publicly held company.
• 1963: Binney & Smith becomes a member of the American Stock Exchange on May 1, with the symbol: BYS.
• 1969: The company opens an additional factory in Easton, Pennsylvania, followed five years later by a new corporate headquarters.
• 1976: Binney & Smith corporate headquarters relocated from New York City to Forks Township in Easton, Pennsylvania.
• 1978:
• Binney & Smith is listed on the New York Stock Exchange on June 19, with the symbol: BYS.
• Crayola crayons celebrate their 75th anniversary, and Crayola markers are introduced. Craft and activity kits become a vital part of the company's business.
• 1979: All children's product lines are repackaged to carry the Crayola trade name and all fine art materials are repackaged to carry the Liquitex trade name.
• 1980: A private distributorship in Australia is purchased to form Binney & Smith (Australia) Pty. Ltd. to market and distribute finished Crayola products.
• 1984:
• Binney & Smith becomes a wholly-owned subsidiary of gift and greeting card seller Hallmark Cards Inc., of Kansas City, Missouri.
• Crayola DREAM-MAKERS art education program is introduced in the nation's elementary schools.
• 1987: Crayola introduces washable markers. Crayola colored pencils also arrive.
• 1990: Eight Crayola crayons—maize, raw umber, lemon yellow, blue gray, orange yellow, orange red, green blue, and violet blue—are retired into the Crayola Hall of Fame in Easton, Pennsylvania.
• 1991: Binney & Smith offers the eight retired Crayola crayon shades, along with a 64-box, in the Crayola Collector's Colors Tin for a limited time. Crayola Washable crayons are introduced.
• 1992: Crayola introduces Model Magic, a modeling compound, into its long line of products.
• 1993: Binney & Smith celebrates the Crayola brand's 90th birthday with its biggest crayon box ever—it holds 96 crayons, including 16 new colors. For the first time, the company asks consumers to name the colors through the Crayola Name The New Colors Contest.
• 1994: Crayola introduces a scented version of crayons called Magic Scents Crayons.
• 1996:
• The 100 billionth Crayola crayon rolls off the production line in Easton, Pennsylvania.
• On July 16, Binney & Smith celebrates the grand opening of The Crayola Factory visitors' center in Easton, Pennsylvania with the Crayola ColorJam parade.
• 2000:
• Crayola Color Wonder makes its debut and takes home trophies in several national toy testing programs including Family Fun magazine's Toy of the Year Awards, Duracell Ultra Toy Survey, and Today's Toy Test 2000, sponsored by the Today Show on NBC.
• Binney & Smith invites crayon enthusiasts of all ages to make their favorite color count in the Crayola Color Census 2000, the first cyber-search for America's favorite crayon colors. The winner: blue. Six other shades of blue finished in the Top 10 including cerulean, midnight blue, aquamarine, periwinkle, denim, and blizzard blue. Other colors rounding out the Top 10 list included purple heart, caribbean green, and cerise.