See Also: HEWLETT-PACKARD(finance)
Hewlett-Packard Co.(encyclopedia)
HEWLETT-PACKARD COMPANY(finance)
Lucile Salter Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford(health)

Hewlett-Packard Co. (sh)




U.S. manufacturer of computers, computer printers, and measuring instruments.

Founded in 1938 in Palo Alto, Calif., by William Hewlett (1913-2001) and David Packard (1912-96), the company grew along with the electronics sector of the U.S. defense industry after World War II (1939-45). In 1966 it developed its first computer, and in 1968 one of the earliest desktop electronic calculators. Hewlett-Packard entered the personal-computer market in 1980, and its HP Laser Jet printer dominated the market for computer printers in the 1980s. By the 1990s the company was a leading maker of minicomputers used by businesses and institutions and a leader in the field of laser and inkjet printers. In 2002 the company bought rival Compaq Computer for $25 billion.