History of Leica

 
Meyer Instruments has a detailed history of Leica published on their website:

Key Dates

1849: Carl Kellner founds an Optical Institute in Germany.
1869: Ernst Leitz becomes sole proprietor of the Optical Institute.
1892: A sales office is opened in New York City.
1920: Ernst Leitz II takes over the business, which is transformed into a public limited corporation.
1924: Ernst Leitz II decides to mass produce the Leica camera.
1951: Canadian operations commence.
1971: A production facility for stereo microscopes is established in Singapore.
1972: Wild Heerbrugg buys 25 percent of Leitz.
1986: Ernst Leitz Wetzlar GmbH and Wild Heerbrugg AG merge to form Wild Leitz AG.
1990: Wild Leitz Holding AG merges with The Cambridge Instrument Company; Wild Leitz AG becomes Leica Heerbrugg AG.
1992: Management buyout of the Leica camera business.
1997: Leica group is split into Leica Microsystems and Leica Geosystems.

History of Leica related posts:

Brief history of Leica Camera AG

The History of Leica documentary now available on YouTube

History of Leica (video) and “20 fascinating facts you didn’t know about the camera maker”

The History of Leica documentary (in German)

Short documentary on the Leica brand

Timeline of Leica M analogue (film) cameras

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