Exxon Mobil Corporation

With the merger of Exxon and Mobil in 1999, the newly formed Exxon Mobil Corporation brought together a shared history that dates back over 120 years to their origins as part of the Standard Oil family of companies.

John D. Rockefeller and partners formed the Standard Oil Company of Ohio in 1870, after having entered the oil business in 1863 with the founding of Andrews, Clark & Company and later Rockefeller, Andrews & Flagler in 1867. Standard Oil quickly began partnering with or purchasing many other Northeastern companies responsible for refining, transporting and marketing petroleum products. In 1882, after determining the feasibility of setting up a joint-stock corporation, Rockefeller and partners formed the Standard Oil Trust to unify what then numbered about 40 companies. From then on, the Trust's nine trustees exercised broad management and control for each company, with daily operational decisions made at the individual company level. That same year, the Trust formed Standard Oil Company of New Jersey and Standard Oil Company of New York, which soon became two of the Trust's larger concerns.

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