Philip Morris USA is the American tobacco division of the American tobacco corporation Altria Group. History Creation The company's namesake Philip Morris was born in Whitechapel, United Kingdom in 1835, the son of a recent immigrant from Germany who had taken the name Bernard Morris. In 1847, the family opened a shop in London. The first cigarettes that Philip Morris made were in 1854 and were known as "Philip Morris English Ovals," a non-filter brand of oval-shaped cigarettes that were manufactured in very limited quantities until discontinuation in 2017. Early years In 1902, Philip Morris & Co. Ltd. was incorporated in New York City. George J. Whelan bought the American division of the company in 1919 and created Philip Morris & Co. Ltd., Inc., along with fellow shareholders Reuben M. Ellis and Leonard B. McKitterick. In 1929, the company made its first cigarettes in Richmond, using an existing factory the company purchased. In 1933, this factory was racially integrated more than 30 years before the law required it. In 1938, the company offered preferred stock to ordinary buyers. In 1924, Philip Morris began advertising Marlboros specifically to women. The cigarettes had "new cork-tip filters housed in a flip-top box with a red roof design." Radio and television sponsorship In 1933, the company and its advertising agency, Milton Biow, searched for a "living trademark" to represent their brand, and chose Johnny Roventini, a midget bellhop at the Hotel New Yorker. Roventini called out the catchphrase "Call for Philip Morris!" in live appearances, and on the radio. The Philip Morris-backed radio programs, including, It Pays to Be Ignorant, The Kate Smith Hour and This Is Your Life, all began with the phrase "Johnny presents", and Roventini's "Call for Philip Morris!" From 1951 to 1955, Philip Morris sponsored the CBS sitcom "I Love Lucy", with Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz pitching the product often, and Philip Morris controlling the content of the program. In 1955, Philip Morris became an alternate sponsor with Procter & Gamble, eventually bowing out altogether by the end of that year. Acquisitions In 1970, Philip Morris made the first of several acquisitions with the purchase of Miller Brewing Company. In 1985, Philip Morris Companies Inc. became a holding company and the parent of Philip Morris Inc. and bought General Foods. The acquisition of Kraft Foods came in 1988, after which Kraft and General Foods became Kraft General Foods. Although