1688 Edward Lloyd opens London coffee shop where shipping insurance is bought and sold. Three centuries later, Lloyd's reputation is tarnished by billions of dollars in losses and allegations that many investors were defrauded. Grey Poupon makes Dijon mustard in France. 1783 Jacob Schweppe, former Swiss jeweler, starts world's first soft-drink business to sell artificial mineral water. 1792 New York Stock Exchange forms when brokers and merchants gather on Wall Street and agree to trade securities on a common commission basis.
Smirnoff family goes into vodka business.
1865 Nokia Corp., Finland, makes wood products, later diversifies to cellular phones. 1870-93 New mines sharply boost silver supplies, causing severe inflation around the globe. 1870s Germany unifies politically and officially adopts mark as its common currency. 1896 Henry Ford builds his first experimental car in a workshop behind his home. J.P. Morgan combines Federal Steel and Carnegie Steel to form U.S. Steel, biggest corporate merger of its time.