Consider them the “elder statesmen” of the Fortune 500.
These are the 13 companies on this year’s list that have been around the longest—all of them for more than 150 years. Unsurprisingly, these are big, iconic corporations you know well—like Colgate Palmolive and DuPont—and, also unsurprisingly, many of them are banking giants.
Tip a cap to these veterans. And enjoy the vintage photos to match their age.
Bank of New York Mellon
An invitation to a meeting at the Merchants' Coffee House, in New York, to discuss plans for a new bank on February 23, 1784. The meeting led to the founding of the Bank of New York by Alexander Hamilton that year. At 231 years old, BNY Mellon, as it's called today, is the oldest company on the 2015 Fortune 500.
Cigna
Architects from Skidmore, Owings and Merrill meet at the offices of Connecticut General Insurance in 1957. Connecticut General, founded in 1865, later merged with the Insurance Company of North America, founded in 1792, to become Cigna (CI), the health insurance giant.
J.P. Morgan Chase
Safe deposit vaults at The Manhattan Company, on Wall Street, circa 1930. In 1955, The Manhattan Company merged with Chase National Bank to form the Chase Manhattan Bank. In 2000, it merged with J.P. Morgan and Co to form J.P. Morgan Chase (JPM).
DuPont
Painting of Eleuthere Irenée Du Pont, founder of Du Pont Co., sitting at table with Thomas Jefferson while discussing the location of his first Du Pont gun powder mill. Founded in 1802, DuPont (DD) is 213 years old.
Colgate-Palmolive
A Colgate-branded automobile rolls through the street, circa early 1900s. Colgate & Co., which would later become Colgate-Palmolive (CL), is 209 years old.
Hartford Financial Services Group
The Hartford Fire Insurance Co. building, in Hartford, Connecticut, circa 1910. The company, now known simply as The Hartford (HIG), has been around since 1810.
Citigroup
A humble storefront office of Citicorp Financial Services on April 24, 1975. The big banking organization known today as Citigroup (C) is 203 years old.
Consolidated Edison
Workers hoist a 46-ton girder up along the side of the Consolidated Gas Company building, at 15th Street and Irving in New York City on August 4, 1913. Consolidated Edison, known as ConEd, (ED) is 192 years old.
CSX
A race between Peter Cooper's 'Tom Thumb' locomotive and a horse on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad on August 25, 1830. CSX Transportation (CSX), the railroad giant, is 188 years old.
Macy's
The very first Macy’s store, on Sixth Avenue (then called “Ladies Mile”) in New York City, circa 1880. Macy’s (M) was founded in 1830.
State Street
Allan Forbes, president of the State Street Trust Corp., sitting in his office circa 1944. State Street (STT), founded in 1832, is still headquartered in the State Street building in Boston today.
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McKesson
Advertisement for Calox Tooth Powder by McKesson & Robbins in New York, 1906. McKesson (MCK), at 182 years old, is the oldest pharmaceutical company on this year's Fortune 500.
Cameron International
A worker machining hole flange at Cameron Iron Works in Houston, Texas, circa 1948. Cameron International, based in Houston, provides industrial compression systems for oil and gas companies.
