International Directory of Company Histories
Contains historical descriptions of more than 8,500 international companies, including information about mergers and acquisitions, evolution in organization and management, financial results, primary competitors, and suggestions for further reading.
Mergent Archives contain the following sets of collection:
Corporate Manual Search (Mergent’s/Moody’s Corporate Manuals) 1918 ~
Approximately 16,500 issuers of municipal securities.
Municipal Manual Search (Mergent Municipal & Government Manuals) 1909 ~
Provides a comprehensive and in-depth insight into the history of corporate America.
Annual Report Search (Mergent Historical Annual Reports) 1900' ~
Over 700,000 documents available in .PDF format for the United States, Canada and Europe.
Key Business Ratio 1980’s ~
"Over one million financial statements in the D&B Financial Information Base. This file consists of U.S. corporations, partnerships and proprietorships both public and privately owned, in all size ranges, and includes over 800 different lines of business as defined by the U.S. Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code numbers."
The Hoover's™ Historical Collection of Handbooks 1990 ~
"Dating back over 20 years, the Hoover's collection of handbooks provides historical insight into the most influential public, private and state-owned enterprises in the world."
Industry Report Collection 2003 ~
Ddetailed analysis and forecasts on two dozen major global industry sectors from Textiles to Aviation for the North American, European, Asia Pacific, and Latin American regions. Released semi-annually.
More details on the Mergent Archives collection can be found here.
Search by desired company name. Under the Company Details tab click on the History subtab. Provides a historical overview for the company
Search by desired company name. Under Table of Contents click on the History subtab. Provides an historical overview for the company.
You may consult these free web resources as a starting point, to get clues to search further in subscription databases for more in-depth details.
The following tools may be used to search for companies which are no longer active, or companies that have gone through name changes over the years.
International Directory of Company Histories by 
Mergent/Moody's Manuals by Please note the mirofiche reader is hosted at the Scott Library.