1837 was a difficult time to start a business. Although Cincinnati was a bustling marketplace, the nation was gripped by financial panic. Hundreds of banks were closing across the country. There was widespread concern that the United States was bankrupt. Yet, Procter and Gamble launched their new enterprise, more concerned about how to compete with the 14 other soap and candle makers in their city than with the financial panic shaking their country. Their calm in the midst of that economic storm reflected their forward looking approach to the business--an approach that became the hallmark of Procter & Gamble. In the 1850s, for example, despite rumors of an impending civil war in the U.S., they built a new plant to sustain their growing business. Later, they pioneered one of the nation's first profit-sharing programs and were among the first in American industry to invest in a research laboratory. By 1890, the fledgling partnership between Procter and Gamble had grown into a multi-million dollar corporation. Nevertheless, P&G still had its eyes on the future.

1837 Neither William Procter nor James Gamble ever intended to settle in Cincinnati. Although the city was a busy center of commerce and industry in the early nineteenth century, William, emigrating from England, and James, arriving from Ireland, were headed farther west.
Despite their intentions, however, both men ended their travels when they arrived at the Queen City of the West -- William took care of his ailing wife Martha, who soon died, and James sought medical attention for himself. William Procter quickly established himself as a candlemaker. James Gamble apprenticed himself to a soapmaker. The two might never have met had they not married sisters, Olivia and Elizabeth Norris, whose father convinced his new sons-in-law to become business partners. In 1837, as a result of Alexander Norris' suggestion, a bold new enterprise was born: Procter & Gamble. On April 12, 1837, William Procter and James Gamble start making and selling their soap and candles. On August 22, they formalize their business relationship by pledging $3,596.47 a piece. The formal partnership agreement is signed on October 31, 1837.

1850 The Moon and Stars began to appear in the 1850s as the unofficial trademark of Procter & Gamble. Wharf hands used the symbol to distinguish boxes of Star Candles. By the 1860s, the Moon and Stars appeared on all Company products and correspondence. Once a staple of the Company's product line, candles declined in popularity with the invention of the electric light bulb. The Company discontinued candle manufacturing in the 1920s.

1859 Twenty-two years after the partnership was formed, P&G sales reached $1 million. The Company now employed 80 people.

1862 During the Civil War, Procter & Gamble was awarded several contracts to supply soap and candles to the Union armies. These orders kept the factory busy day and night, building the Company's reputation as soldiers returned home with their P&G products.

1879 James Norris Gamble, son of the founder and a trained chemist, developed an inexpensive white soap equal to high-quality, imported castiles. Inspiration for the soap's name--Ivory--came to Harley Procter, the founder's son, as he read the words "out of ivory palaces" in the Bible one Sunday in church. The name seemed a perfect match for the white soap's purity, mildness, and long-lasting qualities.

1882 Harley Procter convinced the partners to allocate $11,000 to advertise Ivory nationally for the first time. Ivory's purity and floating capability were first advertised across the country in the Independent, a weekly newspaper.

1886 Production began in the Ivorydale factory. Ivorydale replaced the Central Avenue plant, which was heavily damaged by fire in 1884. Designed by noted industrial architect Solon Beman, the plant incorporated the latest technological advances with a pleasant work environment for employees--a progressive approach at that time.

1887 To address the storm of local and national labor unrest, P&G instituted a pioneering profit-sharing program for factory workers. This voluntary program, conceived by William Cooper Procter, grandson of the founder, gave employees a stake in the Company. William Cooper Procter wanted this program to help workers realize their vital roles in the Company's success.

1890 William Alexander Procter assumes leadership of the Company.

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