January 12, 2001: HP co-founder Hewlett dies

HP co-founder Hewlett dies

2001- Hewlett-Packard co-founder William Hewlett, who helped launch a technology revolution out of a Silicon Valley garage, died in his sleep. Hewlett, 87, and David Packard, who died in 1996, founded their company in 1939. One of their first sales of electronic equipment was to Walt Disney Studios, which used it to perfect the soundtrack of the animated movie Fantasia. The pioneers built a company known for technological innovations, such as the first pocket calculator, and became examples for their dedication to employees and philanthropy. Begun in a one-car garage with $538, HP is now a computer and printer powerhouse. Apple Computer was inspired by HP in part, said founder Steve Jobs, who got a summer job at Hewlett-Packard after calling Bill Hewlett at home.

January 12

1773 - The first US museum dedicated to the preservation of knowledge is established in Charleston, South Carolina.

1879 - British-Zulu War begins.

1908 - A long-distance radio message is sent from the Eiffel Tower for the first time.

1932 - Hattie Caraway becomes the first elected woman US senator.

1950 - Swedish tanker rams British submarine Truculent on the Thames, killing 64.

1953 - Yugoslav National Assembly adopts new constitution.

1954 - Queen Elizabeth II opens New Zealand parliament.

1958 - Soviet Union proposes zone free of nuclear weapons from Arctic Circle to Mediterranean.

1964 - Zanzibar proclaimed a republic.

1966 - The first episode of the television series Batman is broadcast on ABC in US.

1970 - Boeing 747 makes its maiden flight.

1976 - Crime novelist, short story writer Dame Agatha Christie dies.

1990 - Romania bans the Communist Party.

1991 - US Congress grants President George H.W. Bush authority to use force to drive Iraq from Kuwait.

1992 - Algerian government cancels second round of voting in parliamentary elections that an Islamic party looks set to win.

1996 - The first Russian military contingent arrives to work alongside Americans in the Nato peacekeeping mission in Bosnia.

1997 - At least eight people die and 30 are injured when a high-speed train hurtles off the track and crashes into electricity pylons in northern Italy.

2002 - Colombian peace process in crisis as President Andres Pastrana sets a deadline for leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces to meet with mediators for a truce.