Hewlett Dies: Silicon Valley's Founding Father
He started HP in a Palo Alto garage with $538 and a coin flip that decided the company name's order. Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard, Stanford engineering graduates, built their first product—an audio oscillator—in that tiny workspace, selling eight to Walt Disney for sound equipment in "Fantasia." Their garage would later be dubbed the "birthplace of Silicon Valley," transforming how the world thinks about technology startups. But Hewlett wasn't just a businessman—he was an engineer who believed technology could solve human problems, not just generate profit.
January 12, 2001
25 years ago
What Else Happened on January 12
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