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1871 - Simon Ingersoll patented his tripod-mounted, steampowered rock drill, which enabled users to achieve a more consistent direction while drilling. A year later, brothers Addison and Jasper Rand, who had left their family's buggy-whip company to develop rock drills, incorporated their business. In 1905, the two businesses formed from the Ingersoll and Rand inventions merged, forming Ingersoll-Rand Co.
1926 - Army divers used Ingersoll-Rand jackhammers to remove an underwater rock ledge in New York City's East River, eliminating shippng hazards; In 2004, Ingersoll-Rand divested it's drilling business.
1927 - Craftsmen used Ingersoll-Rand air compressors and jackhammers to sculpt the 60-70 foot faces of four U.S. Presidents on the face of South Dakota's Mount Rushmore.
1932 - Jussmann Corp. teamed with Clarence Birdseye to introduce the first grocery store frozenfood display case. Thermo King co-founder Frederick McKinley Jones created the first mechanical refrigeration system for long-haul trucks. Ingersoll-Rand acquired Thermo King in 1997 and Hussmann in 2000.
1940 - Armed with an Ingersoll-Rand AVC11 drill, "Rosie the Riveter" symbolized the 6 million women who rolled up their sleeves for the U.S. war effort, assembling aircraft frames, building tanks, welding ship hulls and greasing locomotives during World War II.
1974 - Ingersoll-Rand bought Schlage Lock Co. Today, the company's security businesses range from locks for homes to biometric security devices for securing airports and offices. The RSI biometric handreaders verify an individual's identity based on a hand's unique physical characteristics.
2003 - Bobcat Co., acquired when Ingersoll-Rand bought Clark Equipment Co. in 1995, created the first skid-steer loader, which performs agricultural construction and landscaping work. Bobcat's Toolcat 5600, introduced in 2003, is called the "Swiss Army Knife" of utility work machines for it's versatility.
