On October 19, 1985, the first Blockbuster video-rental store 
opened in Dallas, Texas. At a time when most video stores
were small-scale operations featuring a limited selection of
titles, Blockbuster opened with some 8,000 tapes displayed
on shelves around the store and a computerized check-out
process.

The first store was a success and Blockbuster expanded
rapidly, eventually becoming one of the world’s largest
providers of in-home movies and game entertainment,
before eventually filing for bankruptcy in 2010.

Blockbuster was founded by David Cook (below), who had
previously owned a business that provided computer
software services to the oil and gas industry in Texas.