The company that spawned Silicon Valley

1938

It all started in the garage behind the house at 367 Addison Ave. in Palo Alto, Calif. "Birthplace of Silicon Valley," proclaims the commorative plaque now on the lawn. "This garage marks the birthplace of the world's first high-technology region." Many more world firsts were to follow from the $538 with which Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard launched a business. It might have been called Packard-Hewlett if a fateful coin flip had come up tails instead of heads.