Black+Decker Inc. is an American manufacturer of power tools, accessories, hardware, home improvement products, home appliances and fastening systems headquartered in Towson, Maryland, north of Baltimore, Maryland, USA, where the company was originally established in 1910. On March 12, 2010, Black & Decker merged with Stanley Works to become Stanley Black & Decker. It remains as a wholly owned subsidiary of that company. History 1910-1974 1910 – "The Black & Decker Manufacturing Company" was founded by S. Duncan Black (1883–1951) and Alonzo G. Decker (1884–1956), as a small machine shop in Baltimore in September. Decker, who had only a seventh grade education, had met Black in 1906, when they were both 23-year-old workers at the Rowland Telegraph Company. With only $1,200 between them, one of their first jobs was designing machinery for making milk bottle caps and candy dipping. 1912 – The Black and Decker "Hexagon" logo symbol was introduced, symbolizing the head of a hexagonal bolt found in machine shops. It was used in one form or another from 1912 to 2014. 1917 – Black & Decker invented and patented the hand-held electric drill with a pistol grip and trigger switch. –– For many decades the director of design was Glenn Calvin Wilhide, a friend of Walter Gropius and other industrial designers of the day. Wilhide filed many US patents for Black & Decker. 1917 – The first factory was opened in Towson, Maryland. 1919 – Company reaches $1,000,000 in sales. 1928 – Acquired Van Dorn Electric Tool Company of Cleveland, Ohio. 1936 – Common stock begins trading on the New York Stock Exchange. 1941 August – Wilhide's patent for a portable power driven tool unit granted. 1943 – Received the Army-Navy "E" Award for production, one of four World War II (1939/1941-1945) citations awarded to the company. 1949 – First Black & Decker U.S. trademark awarded. 1951 – Alonzo G. Decker, Sr. becomes president 1960 – Acquired DeWalt from American Machine and Foundry. 1975-2008 1975 – Francis P. Lucier succeeded son of one of the founders Alonzo G. Decker, Jr.(1908-2002), as chairman of the board, the first time a family member did not hold the post. 1984 – Acquired small-appliance business from General Electric Company. 1986 – Nolan D. Archibald is named chief executive officer. 1989 – Acquired Emhart Corporation which includes the brand names Kwikset, Price Pfister faucets, Molly wall anchors, POP rivets, True Temper (both hardware