Jim Casey, 19 years of age, and his 18 year-old friend Claude Ryan started their bicycle delivery company with nothing but a little elbow great and $100 (around $2,500 in today’s money) borrowed from Casey’s friend. There were already several messenger services in the Seattle area, some of which Casey previously worked for, so he knew what it would take. Casey and Ryan manned the phones while his older brother and several others took telegrams to anywhere that could be reached by foot or bike

On this day, August 28, 1907, the  “American Messenger Company,” later to become United Parcel Service, was launched by Casey and Ryan, in Seattle, Washington. Their “office” was really hotel basement at Second Avenue and Main Street in Seattle.

Several years later, Casey’s company merged with Merchant’s Parcel Delivery, changing the name and expanding to delivery not only of telegrams, but also packages to customers from retail stores. By the time Casey retired, UPS has grown a into a multibillion-dollar corporation. Today, UPS operates in 200 countries, specializing transportation and logistics of packages, funds, and information.