1859 - Oil discovered in Titusville, PA.
1865 - Edwin F. Houghton and partners establish a business to study the needs of various industrial processes and manufacture appropriate fluids for metal working industry.
1867 - Houghton introduces its first recorded commercial product, the “Cosmic Counter Corrodent” rust preventive.
1870 - Aaron E. Carpenter joins Houghton as an investment capital partner, to expand the company’s progress in petroleum refining. Gradually assuring responsibility for directing the company, Carpenter became principal director in the 1870’s during which period both of the Houghton brothers passed away.
1874 - Houghton received Franklin Institute medal for achievements in the manufacturing of greases and oils.
1876 - Houghton receives medal of the Centennial Exposition.
1878-79 - Houghton involved in lawsuit with major pharmaceutical company defending its claim to the invention of white petrolatum, later called Vaseline.
1881 - Charles E. Carpenter, son of Aaron, joins company. Houghton expands to new headquarters in Philadelphia’s leather tanning district.
1888 - Louis Murphy joins company as Carpenter’s office boy and begins to rise through company ranks.
1900-05 - Houghton becomes involved in manufacture of mechanical leathers and belting. The company’s VIM belts would become famous for their quality.
1906 - Charles E. Carpenter assumes leadership of company.
1908 - First issue of the company’s journal, The Houghton Line published.
1909 - Charles E. Carpenter, son of Aaron, established first international partnership with Edgar Vaughan & Co. of England.
1910 - Company incorporated as E. F. Houghton & Co.
1927 - William F. MacDonald joins Houghton’s financial office.
1929 - Louis Murphy assumes management of the company upon sudden death of Charles E. Carpenter.
1936 - Aaron E. Carpenter becomes editor of The Houghton Line.
1950 - Treasurer William MacDonald elected company president, initiating a period of unprecedented growth.
1970 - William MacDonald becomes Chairman and CEO and Bill MacDonald, Jr. is elected Treasurer.
1978 - Bill MacDonald Jr. becomes CEO
1979 - Houghton Corporate Headquarters is relocated next to Houghton’s technical Center in Valley Forge, PA.
1992 - Houghton’s steady expansion into a global enterprise receives official recognition when E. F. Houghton & Co. formally adopts a new name, Houghton International Inc.
2000 - Houghton’s new mission - To be the World Leader in the management of chemical processes through strategic partnerships with clients and suppliers to maximize shareholder value - inaugurates a new and more comprehensive approach to our marketplace.
2008 - Houghton merges with a newly formed affiliate of AEA Investors LLC (AEA). This merger gives Houghton's Sareholders significant value for their shares, while at the same time, Houghton will be is to continue uninterrupted in its long history of innovation in serving our customers around the world. Mr. Paul DeVivo becomes the new CEO of Houghton International.