On October 1, 1958, the American Express Company issued
its first charge card in the U.S. and Canada to give traveling
customers more flexibility.
The purple paperboard card—which later became the iconic
green or gold plastic card—pre-dates a new era of paying for
purchases with revolving credit cards, with MasterCard and
Visa following years later.
Henry Wells 1805 – 1878)
William George Fargo (1818 – 1881)
John Butterfield (1801 – 1869)
In 1850, American Express was started as a
freight forwarding company in Buffalo, New
York.
It was founded as a joint-stock corporation
by the merger of the cash-in-transit companies
owned by Henry Wells (Wells & Company),
William G. Fargo (Livingston, Fargo & Co.)
and John W. Butterfield.
