1864–1900

• 1864: Joseph Binney founds Peekskill Chemical Works in upstate New York
  New York
  New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
  
   for producing carbon black.
• 1880: Joseph Binney sets up headquarters in New York City
  New York City
  New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
  
  , joined by son Edwin Binney
  Edwin Binney
  Edwin Binney is best known for his invention of the Crayola crayon.In 1885, Binney took control of his father's business, Peeksill Chemical Co. While experimenting with a mixture of slate waste, cement, and talc, Binney created the first:) dustless white chalk. The invention was awarded a gold...
  
   and nephew C. Harold Smith.
• 1885: Joseph Binney retires; Edwin and C. Harold Smith, form a partnership and call their company Binney & Smith. Early products include red oxide
  Oxide
  An oxide is a chemical compound that contains at least one oxygen atom in its chemical formula. Metal oxides typically contain an anion of oxygen in the oxidation state of −2....
  
   pigment
  Pigment
  A pigment is a material that changes the color of reflected or transmitted light as the result of wavelength-selective absorption. This physical process differs from fluorescence, phosphorescence, and other forms of luminescence, in which a material emits light.Many materials selectively absorb...
  
   used in barn paint and carbon black
  Carbon black
  Carbon black is a material produced by the incomplete combustion of heavy petroleum products such as FCC tar, coal tar, ethylene cracking tar, and a small amount from vegetable oil. Carbon black is a form of amorphous carbon that has a high surface-area-to-volume ratio, although its...
  
   used for car
  Automobile
  An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
  
   tire
  Tire
  A tire or tyre is a ring-shaped covering that fits around a wheel rim to protect it and enable better vehicle performance by providing a flexible cushion that absorbs shock while keeping the wheel in close contact with the ground...
  
  s. During this time, Binney & Smith took an active role in the development and production of carbon black from natural gas
  Natural gas
  Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
  
  , after natural gas deposits were found throughout Pennsylvania
  Pennsylvania
  The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
  
  .

1900–1950

• 1900: The company begins producing slate
  Slate (writing)
  A writing slate is a piece of flat material used as a medium for writing.In the 19th century, writing slates were made of slate, which is more durable than paper and was cheap at the time when paper was expensive. It was used to allow children to practice writing...
  
   school
  School
  A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...
  
   pencil
  Pencil
  A pencil is a writing implement or art medium usually constructed of a narrow, solid pigment core inside a protective casing. The case prevents the core from breaking, and also from marking the user’s hand during use....
  
  s in its newly opened Easton, Pennsylvania
  Easton, Pennsylvania
  Easton is a city in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 26,800 as of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Northampton County....
  
   mill. Their carbon black wins the Gold Medal at the Paris Exposition.
• 1902: "Binney & Smith Company" is formed September 30, in Easton, Pennsylvania, and serves as general distributor for several carbon black producers, introducing Carbon black to other countries. This also marks their first crayon product, the industry crayon "Staonal" in black. This crayon precedes the Crayola brand by a full year and still exists to this year.
• 1903: Noticing a need for safe, quality, and affordable wax crayons, the company produces their first boxes of crayons from the No 30 box containing 30 unwrapped colors to the No 51 box of 28 wrapped colors to the original No 54, with eight Crayola crayons containing red
  Red
  Red is any of a number of similar colors evoked by light consisting predominantly of the longest wavelengths of light discernible by the human eye, in the wavelength range of roughly 630–740 nm. Longer wavelengths than this are called infrared , and cannot be seen by the naked eye...
  
  , orange, yellow
  Yellow
  Yellow is the color evoked by light that stimulates both the L and M cone cells of the retina about equally, with no significant stimulation of the S cone cells. Light with a wavelength of 570–590 nm is yellow, as is light with a suitable mixture of red and green...
  
  , green
  Green
  Green is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 520–570 nanometres. In the subtractive color system, it is not a primary color, but is created out of a mixture of yellow and blue, or yellow and cyan; it is considered...
  
  , blue
  Blue
  Blue is a colour, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 440–490 nm. It is considered one of the additive primary colours. On the HSV Colour Wheel, the complement of blue is yellow; that is, a colour corresponding to an equal...
  
  , violet
  Violet (color)
  As the name of a color, violet is synonymous with a bluish purple, when the word "purple" is used in the common English language sense of any color between blue and red, not including either blue or red...
  
  , brown
  Brown
  Brown is a color term, denoting a range of composite colors produced by a mixture of orange, red, rose, or yellow with black or gray. The term is from Old English brún, in origin for any dusky or dark shade of color....
  
  , and black
  Black
  Black is the color of objects that do not emit or reflect light in any part of the visible spectrum; they absorb all such frequencies of light...
  
   sticks. Their first 8-color assortment sells for a nickel. The Crayola name, coined by Edwin Binney's wife Alice Binney, comes from craie, the French
  French language
  French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
  
   word for chalk, and ola, from oleaginous. All of their original non-Ruben Crayola assortment boxes contain a girl on the back of the boxes; their first attempt at a consistent branding effort. Contrary to all web and printed documentation, the Rubens Crayons for Art Students line was actually introduced right from the beginning in 1903. There is authenticated evidence of this from their 1903/04 "The Art of Crayola Painting" pamphlet and a photo of the Rubens Crayola No. 500 in a 1906 magazine advertisement from Youth's Companion.
• 1904: Binney & Smith wins the Gold Medal during the April 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. Their entry was actually for their An-Du-Septic dustless chalk, but it was the foundation of their "Gold Medal" packaging in which they featured the gold medal on the front of their crayon boxes for the next 50 or so years. Given that this award wasn't given out until April 1904 and Crayola had been selling since August 1903, it is a misconception that the famous box shown on the postage stamp and in numerous other historical articles and web pages is "the" actual first design of their Crayola boxes because the box shown in all of those pictures has that Gold Medal on the front.
• 1905: Binney redesigns their 8-color assortment to use the famous "Gold Medal" label and design. They also renamed the box to be the No 8, following and earlier such introduction by the Franklin Mfg. Co. for their Rainbow line of crayons. This first and only Gold Medal box used the Eagle side of the Gold Medal and was the only assortment size to use this side of the medal as it was changed to the other side before they expanded the line to other assortment sizes in 1910. This also marks the year that they introduced Spectra, a pastel crayon line.
• 1907: Binney & Smith partnered with Milton Bradley to product the Crayola No. 77 assortment box with Milton Bradley printed on the box also.
• 1908: Binney & Smith partnered with Littlefield Maps to make a special color assortment of their Rubens-Crayola No. 12 box with special Biblical colors pasted on the back to accommodate church work on their Old Testament maps.
• 1909: Binney & Smith launched their Durel line of pressed crayons
• 1910: Binney & Smith expand their Gold Medal line to include the debut of their No 16 box (which also followed an earlier debut of a 16-color assortment by Franklin Mfg. Co.). They also discontinued many of their original boxes in favor of standardizing more to this Gold Medal line.
• 1911: Binney & Smith launch their Cerola brand of crayons targeted toward the lower end quality but more affordable markets
• 1912: Binney & Smith's carbon black is first used on tires to make black tires. They also launched their Cerata brand of crayons.
• 1913: Marks the launch of the Little Folks outfit boxes (No 25 & 50) along with a Picture Tracer box.
• 1915: The Boston crayon line debuts. This also marks the discontinuation of the No. 101 assortment box that contained Gold, Silver and Copper crayon colors. While Gold and Silver was available as a bulk purchase, these three original colors couldn't be found on a retail assortment box for the next 30 years.
• 1919: The design of the their Gold Medal boxes is changed to drop the Paris reference. They also launch their No. 88 8-color tins.
• 1920: Perma Pressed Sharpenable Fine Art Crayons are added to the growing product line, which also includes new Artista brand paints.
• 1922: Binney & Smith expand their Little Folks outfit concept by introducing a number of Toy Sets with specific themes.Included in the launch are Crayola Color Kit for Kiddies (No. 508), Crayola Crusader Box (No. 503), Crayola Snowbound Color Box (No. 500), Crayola Dream Stories Color Set (No. 501), Crayola Home Run Color Box (No. 503), Crayola Little Boy Blue Paint Box (No. 501), Crayola Color it and Trace it Outfit (No. 502), Crayola Bird-Land Color Set (No. 516), Crayola Chummy Animals Color Set (No. 510), Uncle Wiggily Crayola Color Box (No. 506), Crayola Golden Treasure Color Set (No. 518), Crayola Rob Roy Color Box (No. 513). While attractive and theme driven, they later concluded that the higher cost made these some of their least successful products.
• 1923: Corporate offices move from 81-83 Fulton St. to 41 East 42nd Street in New York City
  New York City
  New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
  
  .
• 1924: Perma and Tiny Tot crayon lines debut.
• 1926: Binney & Smith launch their Perma and Crayolet crayon lines. They also begin publishing their bi-monthly art publication “The Drawing Teacher”
• 1927: Binney & Smith Co. launch the Snookum’s Crayola Color Set No. 25 based on the popular baby actor who died of blood poisoning several years later at the age of 7
• 1927: Binney & Smith Co. launch the Besco line and redesign their Gold Medal boxes to remove the ornate scrolling
• 1929: Binney & Smith Co. discontinues all of their Toy Sets and Color Outfits except their Little Folks No. 25 and No. 50.
• 1930: Binney & Smith Co. launches their Chic’ago line of pastel crayons
• 1931: C. Harold Smith, co-founder of Binney & Smith Co. dies
• 1934: Edwin Binney, co-founder of Binney & Smith Co. dies
• 1936: Binney & Smith becomes a founding member of the Crayon, Watercolor and Craft Institute, promoting product safety in art
  Art
  Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
  
   material
  Material
  Material is anything made of matter, constituted of one or more substances. Wood, cement, hydrogen, air and water are all examples of materials. Sometimes the term "material" is used more narrowly to refer to substances or components with certain physical properties that are used as inputs to...
  
  s.
• 1948: To educate art teachers about the many ways to use the growing number of Crayola products, a teacher workshop
  Workshop
  A workshop is a room or building which provides both the area and tools that may be required for the manufacture or repair of manufactured goods...
  
   program begins to offer in-school training across the country. Crayola also first releases its first 48-count box this year.

1950–1990

• 1952: A Binney & Smith factory
  Factory
  A factory or manufacturing plant is an industrial building where laborers manufacture goods or supervise machines processing one product into another. Most modern factories have large warehouses or warehouse-like facilities that contain heavy equipment used for assembly line production...
  
   in Winfield, Kansas
  Winfield, Kansas
  Winfield is a city situated along the Walnut River in the west-central part of Cowley County, located in South Central Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 12,301...
  
   opens to handle the company's growing business.
• 1953: Binney & Smith Co. moves their headquarters to 380 Madison Ave in New York city.
• 1955: Binney & Smith incorporates and changes their packaging from "Binney & Smith Co." to "Binney & Smith Inc."
• 1958: The 64-color assortment of Crayola crayons—with a built-in sharpener—debuts.
• 1959: The first Crayola TV ads appear during the children's TV show Ding Dong School.
• 1961: Binney & Smith becomes a publicly held company.
• 1962: The color "Flesh" is renamed "Peach" completing an odd transition from Flesh-Tint to Flesh to Pink Beige, back to Flesh and finally to Peach.
• 1963: Binney & Smith becomes a member of the American Stock Exchange
  American Stock Exchange
  NYSE Amex Equities, formerly known as the American Stock Exchange is an American stock exchange situated in New York. AMEX was a mutual organization, owned by its members. Until 1953, it was known as the New York Curb Exchange. On January 17, 2008, NYSE Euronext announced it would acquire the...
  
   on May 1, with the symbol: BYS.
• 1964: Crayola acquires Permanent Pigments Inc., producers of Liquitex art materials.
• 1969: The company opens an additional factory in Easton, Pennsylvania, followed five years later by a new corporate headquarters
  Corporate headquarters
  Corporate headquarters is a term used to describe the entity at the top of a corporation to take full responsibility for the overall success of the corporation, ensures Corporate Governance...
  
  .
• 1972: Binney & Smith Inc. purchases the Cosmic Crayon Co. in Bedford, UK and uses its facilities for their European operation by making it Binney & Smith (Europe), Ltd.
• 1972: Binney & Smith adds the Fluorescent colors; Atomic Tangerine, Blizzard Blue, a retired color of 2003, Hot Magenta, Laser Lemon, which was Chartreuse, throughout the 70's and 80's, Outrageous Orange, which was Ultra Orange, throughout the 70's and 80's, Screamin' Green, which was Ultra Green, throughout the 70's and 80's, Shocking Pink, which was Ultra Pink, throughout the 70's and 80's, and Wild Watermelon, which was Ultra Red, throughout the 70's and 80's.
• 1972: Binney & Smith Inc. opens their Mexico operations, Binney & Smith Mexicol, S.A.
• 1975: Fire destroys the Binney & Smith Bedford factory on Aug 10. A new factory was built and operational by Oct.
• 1976: Binney & Smith corporate headquarters relocate from New York City to Forks Township in Easton, Pennsylvania.
• 1977: Binney & Smith buys Silly Putty
  Silly Putty
  Silly Putty , is the Crayola-owned trademark name for a class of silicone polymers. It is marketed today as a toy for children, but was originally created by accident during research into potential rubber substitutes for use by the United States in World War II...
  
  .
• 1978:
  • Binney & Smith is listed on the New York Stock Exchange
    New York Stock Exchange
    The New York Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located at 11 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed companies at 13.39 trillion as of Dec 2010...
    
     on June 19, with the symbol: BYS.
  • Crayola crayons celebrate their 75th anniversary, and Crayola marker
    Marker pen
    thumb|MarkerA marker pen, marking pen, felt-tip pen, flow or marker, is a pen which has its own ink-source, and usually a tip made of a porous, pressed fibres; such as felt or nylon.-Permanent marker:...
    
    s are introduced. Craft and activity kits become a vital part of the company's business.
• 1979: All children's product lines are repackaged to carry the Crayola trade name
  Trade name
  A trade name, also known as a trading name or a business name, is the name which a business trades under for commercial purposes, although its registered, legal name, used for contracts and other formal situations, may be another....
  
   and all fine art materials are repackaged to carry the Liquitex
  Liquitex
  Liquitex is a registred trademark for a brand of acrylic paints named using a portmanteau of the words "liquid" and "texture". The first water-based acrylic paint launched in 1955 by the company under this brand name was the first acrylic gesso, and colored liquid acrylic paints came one year later...
  
   trade name.
• 1980: A private distributorship in Australia
  Australia
  Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
  
   is purchased to form Binney & Smith (Australia) Pty. Ltd. to market and distribute finished Crayola products.
• 1984:
  • Binney & Smith becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of gift and greeting card seller Hallmark Cards
    Hallmark Cards
    Hallmark Cards is a privately owned American company based in Kansas City, Missouri. Founded in 1910 by Joyce C. Hall, Hallmark is the largest manufacturer of greeting cards in the United States. In 1985, the company was awarded the National Medal of Arts....
    
     Inc., of Kansas City, Missouri
    Kansas City, Missouri
    Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
    
    .
  • Crayola DREAM-MAKERS art education program is introduced in the nation's elementary school
    Elementary school
    An elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...
    
    s.
• 1987: Crayola introduces washable markers. Crayola colored pencils also arrive. They also add their 1-800-CRAYOLA toll-free number to all packaging.

1990–present

• 1990: Eight Crayola crayon colors– Maize
  Maize (color)
  The color maize or corn refers to a shade of yellow; it is named for the cereal of the same name—maize...
  
  , Raw Umber, Lemon Yellow, Blue Gray, Orange Yellow, Orange Red, Green Blue and Violet Blue– are retired into the Crayola Hall of Fame in Easton, Pennsylvania
  Easton, Pennsylvania
  Easton is a city in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 26,800 as of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Northampton County....
  
  . Emerson Moser, then Crayola's most senior crayon moulder, also retired after 37 years. After moulding approximately 1.4 billion crayons, he revealed that he is actually color blind. There are replaced colors for the 8 retired colors; Cerulean, Dandelion, Electric Lime, Fuchsia, Jungle Green, Magic Mint, a retired color of 2003, Neon Carrot, Purple Pizzazz, Radical Red, Razzle Dazzle Rose, Royal Purple, Sunglow, Teal Blue, a retired color of 2003, Unmellow Yellow, and Wild Strawberry. There are a bunch of renamed colors. Ultra Yellow was renamed Atomic Tangerine, Ultra Blue was renamed Blizzard Blue, Chartreuse was renamed Laser Lemon, Ultra Orange was renamed Outrageous Orange, Ultra Green was renamed Screamin' Green, Ultra Pink was renamed Shocking Pink, and Ultra Red was renamed Wild Watermelon. Crayola introduces Silver Swirls.
• 1991: Binney & Smith offers the eight retired Crayola crayon shades, along with a 64-box, in the Crayola Collector's Colors Tin for a limited time. Crayola Washable crayons are introduced.
• 1992: Crayola introduces Model Magic, a modeling compound
  Modelling clay
  You can use modelling clay to create items with it. The material compositions and production processes vary considerably. -Ceramic clay:...
  
  , into its long line of products.
• 1993: Binney & Smith celebrates the Crayola brand's 90th birthday with its biggest crayon box ever– it holds 96 crayons, including 16 new colors. For the first time, the company asks consumers to name the colors through the Crayola Name the New Colors Contest. The colors' names were Asparagus, Cerise, Denim, Granny Smith Apple, Macaroni and Cheese, Pacific Blue, Purple Mountain's Majesty, Razzmatazz, Robin's Egg Blue, Shamrock, Tickle Me Pink, Timberwolf, Tropical Rain Forest, Mauvelous, Tumbleweed and Wisteria.
• 1993: Color Wonder
  Color Wonder
  Color Wonder is a marker pen and paper system made by Crayola, primarily intended for use by younger children, in which the special clear-ink marker only appears on the Color Wonder paper. The Color Wonder products debuted in 1993...
  
   products debuted. Hot Fluorescent crayon boxes (8 and 16) are renamed Neons. about 20 new colors are released.
• 1994: Crayola introduces a scented version of crayons called Magic Scents Crayons and Gem Tones.
• 1995: Crayola introduces Changeables.
• 1996:
  • The 100 billionth Crayola crayon rolls off the production line in Easton, and Mister Rogers is made famous for the 100 billionth Crayola crayon.
  • On July 16, Binney & Smith celebrates the grand opening of The Crayola Factory visitors' center in Easton with the Crayola ColorJam parade.
• 1997: All Crayola products receive new logo design for the year; the 120 Giant Chest crayon box is introduced with 24 new colors, including "Torch Red." Crayola introduces Color Mix-up and Pearl Bite.
• 1998: The Crayola 64 Box is reintroduced in its original packaging, complete with built-in sharpener. A 1958 Crayola 64 Box becomes part of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History.
• 1999: For the third time in Crayola history a crayon is renamed because of social concerns. Indian red becomes "chestnut
  Chestnut (color)
  Chestnut, also known as Indian red, is a color, a medium brownish shade of red, and is named after the nut of the chestnut tree.As Indian red, it is named after the red laterite soil found in India. It is thus an earth tone as well as a red. It is composed of naturally occurring iron oxides. Other...
  
  " because teachers reported that schoolchildren often wrongly perceived the color to the be skin color of Native Americans. The name in fact did not refer to Native American
  Indigenous peoples of the Americas
  The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
  
  s, but to a pigment produced in India
  India
  India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
  
   and used in oil paint
  Oil paint
  Oil paint is a type of slow-drying paint that consists of particles of pigment suspended in a drying oil, commonly linseed oil. The viscosity of the paint may be modified by the addition of a solvent such as turpentine or white spirit, and varnish may be added to increase the glossiness of the...
  
  s. Crayola introduces Crayons with Glitter.
• 2000: Thistle is replaced by newcomer Indigo; Torch Red is renamed Scarlet. Cranberry is renamed Blush. Brink Pink is renamed Pink Sherbert. Another Crayola crayon– Thistle
  Thistle
  Thistle is the common name of a group of flowering plants characterised by leaves with sharp prickles on the margins, mostly in the family Asteraceae. Prickles often occur all over the plant – on surfaces such as those of the stem and flat parts of leaves. These are an adaptation that protects the...
  
  – are retired into the Crayola Hall of Fame, totaling 9 retired colors.
• 2001: Crayola introduces Metallic FX Crayons
• 2003: Four more Crayola crayon colors– Blizzard Blue, Magic Mint, Mulberry and Teal Blue
  Teal (color)
  Teal is a medium blue-green color. It is named after the Common Teal, a member of the duck family, whose eyes are surrounded by the color.Teal is one of the initial group of 16 HTML/CSS web colors formulated in 1987, shown below....
  
  – are retired into the Crayola Hall of Fame, but are replaced by four new colors– Inch Worm, Jazzberry Jam, Mango Tango and Wild Blue Yonder; totaling 13 retired colors.
• 2006: Crayola introduces Heads n' Tails Crayons
• 2007: Crayola introduces Silly Scents and True To Life Crayons
• 2008: The Crayola 150 Crayon Tower and Gel FX are released on June 4, 2008.
• 2009: Crayola introduces Extreme Twistables Colors.