History of Boeing: Company timeline and facts
If you love air travel and the companies that made history in the not-so-friendly skies, get to know Boeing, the biggest aircraft manufacturer of them all.
The aerospace giant is one of the significant success stories in U.S. corporate history, with a background steeped in aviation business and technology lore. From commercial airplanes to space and security, the Boeing (BA) brand is widely known the world over and has been for over a century.
Buckle up and keep your seat trays upright as we delve into the history of the biggest aerospace company in the world.
Boeing's early history
Boeing, first known as Aero Products Company, was founded by William E. Boeing, a timber executive, in 1916 in Seattle.
Boeing, already wealthy from his ownership of various lumber companies in the northwest U.S., grew fascinated with aircraft after viewing one at the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition in Seattle in 1909.
Photo by Vince Streano on Getty Images
A year later, Boeing bought a wooden boat-building plant right on the Duwamish River, which would soon be transformed into an aircraft manufacturing plant.
By 1915, Boeing had caught the flying bug so badly that he began taking lessons from a Los Angeles-based flight school and soon purchased his own private plane, a so-called "Flying Birdcage" seaplane which was held together by wood and wires.
When the aircraft was shipped to Seattle, Boeing and his team found production flaws that were further pronounced after a crash during a testing flight.
Rather than wait months for the proper parts to be delivered, Boeing decided he could do the job himself in a much shorter time, which convinced him that he was on the right track with his new airline company.
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The Aero Products Company name didn't last long after that, as Boeing changed its name to the Boeing Airplane Company in 1917. Its first source of income came from the U.S. military, as Boeing began building various military aircraft (patrol bombers were a mainstay) in the 1920s and 1930s.
William Boeing viewed his company as a visionary presence in the aviation market and welcomed input and ideas from all of his employees.
"We are embarked as pioneers upon a new science and industry in which our problems are so new and unusual that it behooves no one to dismiss any novel idea with the statement that ‘it can't be done!'" he famously said in 1928.
Boeing during the World Wars
With that pioneering mindset, Boeing also began selling aircraft to deliver mail to far-flung American cities and towns and, in the late 1920s, once again adjusted its business model to encompass aircraft manufacturing and airline flights.
In 1931, it merged several smaller airlines into a single, larger carrier known as United Airlines (UAL). Boeing also acquired several aircraft manufacturing companies, including Avion and Pratt & Whitney.
After a series of name changes, the company returned to the name Boeing Airplane Company. It was instrumental in the production of military aircraft during the Second World War, including the B-17 Flying Fortress and the B-29 Superfortress. After the war, the B-47 Stratojet and the eight-engine B-52 Stratofortress followed.
With the war years over, Boeing returned to the idea of building commercial planes that could take customers across the country in a single flight.
That meant shifting from propeller-based aircraft to turbojets, which was unpopular with airlines that had poured millions of dollars into propeller-based aircraft.
It would take over 20 years for the industry transformation to turbojet airliners to take root. Bolstered by a large order from the U.S. Air Force, Boeing spent abundant time and money on its transatlantic airliner, and by 1958, it finally rolled out the 707, which immediately went into service for Pan American Airlines.
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The 707 was a huge hit with the public, who were amazed to fly from New York to Los Angeles in a few short hours, and, as a result, orders for Boeing's new aircraft line were sky high during the 1960s.
That momentum led to the development of the 737 in 1964 and the 747 in 1970, which caused so many production problems that it almost bankrupted the company. By the end of the 20th century, however, the Boeing 747, with 400 seats and larger, faster engines, became the highest-selling commercial airliner of all time.
Americans had truly begun to embrace air travel, and Boeing was the biggest name in the game.
As William Boeing put it early on during his company's rise to prominence, "People want to ride on airplanes more and more each day. We are trustees of a veritable revolution."
Boeing and the race to space
Boeing began branching out in the 1960s, first with a new line of helicopters, including the CH-47 Chinook and CH-46 Sea Knight military choppers, which rolled off assembly lines in 1961. The company also began developing missiles for the U.S. military, with its silo-launched Minuteman missile delivered in 1962.
But Boeing had even grander plans, as it began building both air- and land-craft for NASA. First came the Lunar Roving Vehicle, widely used on the Apollo space flights in the 1960s and 70s.
Boeing also built a Lunar Orbiter, which first traveled around the moon in 1966. Boeing would also go on to build the Mariner 10 space probe and the initial Saturn V rockets that Apollo used to fly men to the moon in the late 1960s and 1970s.
Boeing would also begin building vehicles for NASA's space shuttle mission in the 1970s and continued to do so until NASA shut down the project in 2011.
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The 1980s saw Boeing refocus on the commercial airline sector, as it began work on the Boeing 757 and Boeing 767 aircraft, which featured, for the first time, a common flight deck that enabled pilots to train on and fly both aircraft, thus saving airlines millions of dollars in training and staffing costs.
Computerization in the form of computer-aided design and manufacturing (CAD/CAM) software enabled Boeing to build its 777 aircraft in the 1990s without having to build a physical frame for the aircraft first, saving time and money for the aviation company.
The 787 Dreamliner followed, but not without presenting a host of production problems for Boeing. Building began in the early 2000s, but the Dreamliner didn't begin filling orders until 2011, as the plane routinely failed stress tests and suffered production flaws that held up production.
In 2013, further problems developed, as the 787 was grounded for a short period of time by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, due to a risk of battery fires on the aircraft.
In the end, though, the 787 proved to be the fastest and most fuel-efficient passenger aircraft in the industry, and hundreds of orders poured in from airlines around the world, ensuring another winning aircraft for the company, with annual revenues clocking in between $66 billion and $101 billion from 2006 to 2019.
By 2017, Boeing was building and delivering hundreds of their aircraft annually, with a total pre-order price tag of $134.8 billion, with more than 500 of the 737 model, the most ordered, 94 of the 787s, and 60 of the 777 model.
That same year, Boeing made its first delivery of the 737 MAX, the fourth generation of the 737 narrow-body airliner.
Boeing's fatal crashes & recent history
However, the 737 MAX was grounded after two fatal crashes, Lion Air Flight 610 on October 29, 2018, and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 on March 10, 2019, in which a total of 346 people died.
Investors lost confidence in the company, which led to the dismissal of then-CEO Dennis Muilenburg.
David Calhoun replaced Muilenburg as CEO effective Jan. 13, 2020. However, Calhoun's tenure was marred by intense turmoil and a deepening safety crisis, including a Jan. 5, 2024, incident where the door plug on an Alaska Airlines 737 Max blew out in midair.
Calhoun announced on March 25, 2024, that he would step down as CEO of Boeing by the end of the year. Robert "Kelly" Ortberg replaced David Calhoun as the President and CEO of Boeing, effective August 8, 2024.
He has been described as a "steady hand" leading Boeing through its "next chapter."
An experienced aerospace executive, Ortberg was tasked with turning the company around by improving safety, quality, and production, particularly on the 737 MAX line.
"It's unacceptable that an aircraft left our factory without that door plug properly installed," Ortberg told a Senate panel in 2025, according to NPR. "And let me just make that perfectly clear, that can never, never happen again."
Boeing's stock splits, dividends & current status
The company suspended its quarterly cash dividend in March 2020 due to financial constraints and has not reinstated it.
Boeing, which joined the Dow Jones Industrial Average on March 12, 1987, has undergone a total of 7 to 8 stock splits throughout its history since becoming a publicly traded company in 1962, with the most recent being a 2-for-1 split on June 6, 1997.
While some sources indicate seven, many reputable reports confirm eight splits, starting in 1966.
Related: Boeing's dividend & stock split history explained
As of early 2026, Boeing employs roughly 182,000 people worldwide. The company achieved a financial turnaround in 2025, posting a net profit of $2.24 billion for the full year, compared to a $11.83 billion loss in 2024.
Revenue for that year totaled $89.46 billion, marking a 34.5% increase from 2024, driven by higher commercial aircraft deliveries and a record backlog. The company reported net profit of $2.24 billion, a reversal from the $11.83 billion loss a year earlier.
Boeing (BA) is considered a potential long-term recovery play with a "Buy" consensus, driven by a massive commercial backlog and improving production rates.
However, it remains a high-risk investment due to ongoing quality control issues, debt, and competition.
A timeline of Boeing's milestones
July 15, 1916: Boeing is founded by William E. Boeing in Seattle, WA, as the Pacific Aero Products Co.
Dec. 23, 1919: The Boeing B-1 (Model 6), the company's first commercial flying boat designed for civilian use, completes its maiden flight, establishing an international airmail route between Seattle, Washington, and Victoria, B.C.
May 3, 1922: William Boeing becomes Boeing Airplane Co.'s chairman of the board.
July 1, 1927: Bertha Boeing, William Boeing's wife, inaugurates the first Boeing Air Transport airmail flight, christening the Model 40A mail plane before it departs on its route between San Francisco and Chicago. On its return flight, the plane carries its first airline passenger, Chicago reporter Jane Eads.
May 15, 1930: Ellen Church, a registered nurse, joins the crew of a Boeing Model 80A, embarking on a 20-hour flight to San Francisco carrying 14 passengers. She is the first female flight attendant.
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Feb. 8, 1933: The Boeing Model 247, the first modern airliner, makes its first flight.
March 20, 1940: Boeing delivers its first Model 307 Stratoliners to Pan American Airways (Pan Am).
April 18, 1942: Sixteen North American Aviation B-25 Mitchells, led by Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle, leave for a pivotal raid on Japan.
Aug. 6, 1945: The Boeing B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay drops an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. Three days later, the B-29 Bockscar bombs Nagasaki, Japan
Oct. 16, 1955: The Boeing Dash 80 flies nonstop from Seattle to Washington, D.C., and back, breaking all transcontinental records for a commercial transport, at average speeds of 592 mph and 567 mph, respectively.
Dec. 15, 1961: Boeing starts work on the Saturn V first-stage booster for the Apollo program.
Jan 2, 1962: Boeing begins trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
Feb. 7, 1964: The Beatles - John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr - arrive at John F. Kennedy International Airport aboard a Pan American World Airways Boeing 707 named Clipper Defiance.
Sept. 30, 1968: The first Boeing 747-100 jumbo jet rolls out during ceremonies at the new assembly facility in Everett, Washington, just 28 months after the program was announced.
Feb. 9, 1969: The Boeing 747-100 jumbo jet makes its first commercial flight
July 31, 1971: The first Boeing Lunar Roving Vehicle is used by astronauts on the moon.
March 12, 1987: Boeing joins the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is added to the index, alongside Coca-Cola (KO), replacing Owens-Illinois and Inco.
Aug. 1, 1997: Boeing completes its acquisition of McDonnell Douglas.
Sept. 4, 2001: Boeing officially moves its corporate headquarters from Seattle to Chicago.
July 1, 2015: Dennis Muilenburg becomes CEO, replacing James McNerney.
Oct. 29, 2018: A Lion Air Boeing 737 MAX 8 crashes into the Java Sea 13 minutes after takeoff, killing all 189 occupants on board.
March 10, 2019: An Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 crashes just minutes after take-off from Addis Ababa.
Jan. 13, 2020: David Calhoun replaces Dennis Muilenburg as CEO effective Jan. 13, 2020.
May 5, 2022: Boeing again moves its headquarters, this time to Arlington, Virginia, in order to maintain corporate offices closer to government regulators.
Jan.5, 2024: A Boeing 737 MAX 9 operating Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 suffers an uncontrolled decompression after a door plug completely blows out from the aircraft.
Aug. 8, 2024: Robert "Kelly" Ortberg replaces David Calhoun as the President and CEO of Boeing
April 22, 2026: Boeing reports first-quarter earnings, with $22.22 billion in revenue and an 11-cent GAAP loss per share.
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This story was originally published May 12, 2026 at 4:38 PM.