1894 - In 1894 Orville Gibson works in his workshop in Kalamazoo, Michigan to create the earliest documented Gibson instrument.
1902 - As the demand for Gibson instruments increases, Orville Gibson enters an agreement with 5 Kalamazoo financiers to create The Gibson Mandolin-Guitar Manufacturing Company. Orville Gibson remains company consultant until 1904. He died later in 1918.
1921 - Ted McHugh, a Gibson employee, created 2 of the greatest guitar innovations in history. These were the adjustable truss rod and the height-adjustable bridge. All Gibson instruments still use truss rods which are based off of Ted McHugh's design.
1922 - In 1922 one of Gibson's sound engineers Lloyd Loar designed the F-5 Mandolin and the L-5 Acoustic guitar. By the end of the 1920s Gibson is producing many flat top models and an economy series called The Kalamazoo Line.
1935 - Gibson's first electric guitars are introduced- a Hawaiian style EH-150 and the ES-150 the year later. The ES-150 became quickly known as the "Charlie Christian" model, due to the famous Charlie Christian using the guitar as his primary instrument.
1937 - Ray Whitley a film star ordered a super-large acoustic guitar from Gibson. From this the J-200 or Super Jumbo were created. Along with the Super jumbo with 2 cutaway models were also created - the Super 400 Premier and the L-5 Premier and the legendary J-45 and Southern Jumbo.
1944 - The Chicago Musical Instrument Company buys Gibson.
1946 - The years after World War I marked with large innovations. With the help of Ted McCarty, Gibson makes the P-90 Single Coil Pickup and introduces classic arch tops as the ES-5 and the ES-175. 1952 - Les Paul ( a popular recording artist of the era) helped Gibson in the launch of the companies first solid body electric guitar. This was known as the "Les Paul Model", which became one of the most successful "signature" guitar in history. After Les Paul Models became a family of 4 models which consisted of The Junior, The Special, The Standard and The Custom.
1954 - Ted McCarty invents the Tune-o-matic bridge, which featured individually adjustable saddles.
1969 - Company merges with FCL to create Norlin, a music division made up of Gibson Guitar, Moog Synthesizers anf Lowrey organs and pianos.
1974 - Gibson's operations split between their plant in Kalamazoo and their newest plant in Nashville.
1978 - The company reissues for the first time the F-SL, the Les Paul Heritage 80 in 1980, the first B.B. King models and the Heritage Korinas two years later with the first Chet Atkins solid body acoustic. 1983 - The music company Norlin is bought by Rooney Pace and Piezo Electric Products. These new owners put the Gibson division up for sale. The Kalamazoo plant was shut down the same year and the Nashville plant became Gibson's main headquarters.
1986 - Henry Juszkiewicz and David Berryman guitar enthusiasts purchase the Gibson company in January 1986 and immediatel began to restore Gibson's reputation as manufacturer of the best stringed instruments in the world.
In the beginning of 1990s Gibson released detailed replicas of the '59 and '60 flametop Les Paul.
1994 - To mark their centennial Gibson debuts the Nighthawk, a new model which wins an award at NAMM for the Most Innovative Guitar.
2002 - Marks the 50th anniversary of the Les Paul Model. The company introduces the world's first digital guitar.
2003 - In 2003 Gibson's digital guitar is named by Time Magazine as one of the "Coolest Inventions" of 2003. The same year Gibson opens up a plant in China which creates Epiphones. The company also forms the Gibson Foundation, the official charitable arm of the company. Another innovation Gibson releases is the worlds first guitar with robotic technology.
2014 - 2014 Marked Gibson's 120th Anniversary. To celebrate this the company released a new electric and bass guitar models, keeping the traditional style in mind while still making huge innovations. Included in these new innovations was the implementation of the Min-ETune and automatic tuning unit, 4 new picksups including the Sidewinder humbucker, Supreme Grip speed knobs, undercut fret over binding, a TekToid nut, and cryogenic-treated fret wire for longer life and resistance against corrosion.With there new innovations new colours and finishes were also added. And to honor the 120th anniversary a banner inlay was added of the 12th fret on all new models.
Over time Gibson has been known for some of the greatest innovations in the guitar industry.