Company HistoryColgate began in 1806, when William Colgate, an English immigrant, established a starch, soap and candle business on Dutch Street in New York. In 1807, Frances Smith became a partner and the company became Smith and Colgate. In 1813 Colgate bought out his partner and the name was changed to William Colgate and Company (http://www.colgate.co.uk/about/history.shtml). Colgate's first advertisement for soap, mold and dipt candles appeared in 1817. A few years later, Colgate and his brother-in-law, John Gilbert, built a starch factory in Jersey City, New Jersey . In 1947 the Dutch Street factory was moved there, but the sales office remained on Dutch Street. At that time, the main products were Windsor toilet soaps and pearl starch. In 1857, Colgate died and the company name was changed to Colgate & Company. The company introduced scented soap and began manufacturing perfumes and essences in 1866. Six years later, the first ground scented toilet soap, Cashmere Bouquet, was registered as a trademark. . Nearly 70 years after the company was founded, Colgate & Company produced its first toothpaste, an aromatic dental cream sold in jars. In 1896, the company introduced the first collapsible tube of toothpaste, making toothpaste much more convenient to use. In 1864, B.J. Johnson Soap Company was founded. In 1898, the company introduced Palmolive soap, a product that was so successful that it prompted B.J. Johnson to change its name to Palmolive Company 1916. By the time Colgate & Company celebrated its 100th anniversary, it was manufacturing dental care products, laundry soaps, 160 different kinds of toilet soaps and 625 varieties of perfumes. In 1906, the company initiated a factory expansion at its Jersey City location, where a new 8-story factory opened...