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The Hartford history
The Hartford company history timeline
In 1810, the Connecticut General Assembly awarded a charter to the state's first publicly owned insurance firm, The Hartford Fire Insurance Co.
The Hartford was founded in 1810 in Hartford, Connecticut.
The first sign that the 1819 petition made an impact in the state legislature appeared in a May issue of the Hartford Courant, which noted that legislators formed a committee to consider the petition’s assertions.
In May of 1820, nearly a year after the first calls for the formation of a new fire insurance company, Aetna’s board of directors again voted to send a petition to the state legislature— this time seeking a charter amendment to permit the writing of life insurance.
Advertisement for the Aetna Insurance Company, Hartford, 1828 – Connecticut Historical Society
After a huge fire destroyed New York's financial district in 1835, The Hartford's president, Eliphalet Terry, used his personal wealth to cover all of the company's damage claims.
On a hot summer morning in 1845, however, the fortunes of the young company took a drastic turn.
The stockholders of the “Annuity Fund” now constituted a new corporation under the name “the Aetna Life Insurance Company,” with Eliphalet A. Bulkeley as its first President. Thus, the board of directors petitioned the legislature again in 1853, this time seeking to amend the charter to separate the life insurance department from the parent company.
Aetna Life Insurance Co. of Hartford, Conn. assets January 1st, 1867 by Kellogg & Bulkeley – Connecticut Historical Society
Hartford was the first city to build a building for the YWCA back in 1867
Aetna Insurance Company calendar by Bingham & Dodd, 1878 – Connecticut Historical Society
The first time a president rode in a car was in Hartford by Theodore Roosevelt in 1902
1913: Hartford Accident and Indemnity Co. founded on Aug.
1921: Company moves into buildings on Asylum Avenue that formerly housed the American School for the Deaf.
1934: Chicago Stockyard fire on May 19 causes The Harford $1.1 million in losses.
The first FM radio station was the area's WDRC back in 1939
In 1960, Aetna entered the international arena when it acquired the Canadian company, Excelsior Life Insurance.
In 1960's people started leaving Hartford for it's suburbs and Hartford's suburbs have expanded in immensly becoming home to world class shopping malls, prestigious private & parochial schools, major corporations and million dollar homes.
1968: In June, ITT Hartford moves its life insurance headquarters from Boston to a 22-story tower at 690 Asylum Ave.
In 1970, The Hartford was acquired by ITT Corporation, and the new combined company was renamed ITT-Hartford Group, Inc.
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Company Name  | Founded Date | Revenue | Employee Size | Job Openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nationwide | 1925 | $41.9B | 25,391 | 315 |
| Unum | 1848 | $324.2B | 10,700 | 460 |
| AIG | 1919 | $43.3B | 49,600 | 584 |
| MetLife | 1868 | $531.0M | 49,000 | 535 |
| Chubb | 1882 | $36.0B | 31,000 | 1,451 |
| GEICO | 1936 | $25.5B | 40,000 | 1,634 |
| USAA | 1922 | $35.6B | 32,896 | 612 |
| Lincoln Financial Group | 1905 | $66.0B | 9,047 | 1,508 |
| The Travelers Companies | 1853 | $231.7M | 30,800 | 2,097 |
| Genworth | 2004 | $8.4B | 3,000 | 68 |
The Hartford history FAQs
Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of The Hartford, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about The Hartford. The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their past or current employments at The Hartford. The data on this page is also based on data sources collected from public and open data sources on the Internet and other locations, as well as proprietary data we licensed from other companies. Sources of data may include, but are not limited to, the BLS, company filings, estimates based on those filings, H1B filings, and other public and private datasets. While we have made attempts to ensure that the information displayed are correct, Zippia is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of this information. None of the information on this page has been provided or approved by The Hartford. The data presented on this page does not represent the view of The Hartford and its employees or that of Zippia.
The Hartford may also be known as or be related to Hartford, Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., Hartford Fire Insurance Company, The Hartford, The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc and The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc.