History
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1969
Jack and Laura Dangermond founded Esri in 1969 as a small research group focused on land-use planning. The company's early mission was to organize and analyze geographic information to help land planners and land resource managers make well-informed environmental decisions.
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1973
Esri delivers the first commercially developed statewide GIS for Maryland.
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1979
The first newsletter hits the streets, creatively titled Newsletter until 1987, when it became ArcNews.
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1981
The first User Conference is held–16 people attend.
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1982
Esri enters the software business with ARC/INFO.
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1986
Esri releases PC ARC/INFO in response to the proliferation of IBM PCs.
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1987
Palm Springs hosts the annual User Conference.
The first regional office opens in Olympia, WA.
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1991
Esri releases ArcView in response to the popularity of a GUI desktop environment.
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1994
Esri's website www.esri.com is launched.
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1995
Esri reaches the 1,000 employee mark.
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1996
MapObjects, Esri's first component-based software, becomes its first platform for publishing maps on the Internet.
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1997
The Esri International User Conference moves to San Diego to accommodate 7,000 users.
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1998
ArcUser begins publication, providing news and tutorials for users.
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1999
The first GIS Day is held in conjunction with National Geographic.
Esri reengineers core software with the release of ArcInfo 8.
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2001
Following devastating attacks on 9/11, Esri aids recovery efforts in New York City and at the Pentagon.
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2004
ArcGIS 9 builds on desktop success and adds a development framework and server platform.
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2007
Esri reaches a milestone with the release of ArcGIS Explorer, providing GIS for Everyone.
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2010
The ArcGIS Ideas Web site is a forum for users to suggest new products and improvements, vote for their favorites, and discuss ideas submitted by others.
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2012
ArcGIS Online is a cloud-based mapping system for organizations that offers collaboration tools for cataloging, visualizing, and sharing geospatial information.
ArcGIS 10.1 debuts, enabling users to deliver any GIS resource as a web service, putting geographic information in the hands of more people.
Read more about Esri's history.