Dun & Bradstreet, a reliable partner in all your business decisions.
Many people believe the data revolution began in recent years. At Dun & Bradstreet, we take a slightly different view. We turn the clock back to July 20, 1841 – the day we set up shop as The Mercantile Agency in New York City.
Founded by Lewis Tappan, the agency helped spark a business information revolution by creating a network of correspondents that served as a source of reliable, consistent and objective credit information.
Dun & Bradstreet has grown considerably since the early days to retain its lead in the market by providing its customers with solutions and expert advice to enable them to take reliable credit, marketing as well as purchasing decisions.
500 Million Business Records and Counting
We also are constantly expanding the size and improving the quality of our global database.
In late 2018, our global database exceeded 500 million businesses worldwide. And we believe in accompanying those quarter-billion records and associated analytics with the high-quality service that is our hallmark.
History
1841 - Mercantile Agency set up by Lewis Tappan, the forerunner of Dun & Bradstreet
1847 - Benjamin Douglas becomes a partner in the Mercantile Agency. Some of those correspondents later even became Presidents of America: Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, Grover Cleveland and William McKinley.
1849 - John M. Bradstreet sets up the rival credit reporting agency in Cincinnati
1859 - Robert Graham Dun (brother-in-law of Benjamin Douglas) becomes the manager of The Mercantile Agency
1886 - R. H. Donnelley starts the Chicago Directory Company and introduces his first telephone directory in 1886
1898 - A photo of The R.G. Dun Building in New York. It was one of the first buildings with elevators and air conditioning.
1931 - R. G. Dun & Company introduces a new way of financial reporting
1933 - R. G. Dun & Company merges with The Bradstreet Company Dun & Bradstreet
1942 - Dun & Bradstreet takes over a competitor: The credit Clearing House
1951 - Dun & Bradstreet moves to 99 Church Street headquarters in New York City
1962 - Dun & Bradstreet takes over Moody's
1963 - Dun & Bradstreet introduces Data Universal Numbering System (D-U-N-S) and takes over Moody's
1965 - Dun & Bradstreet produces its first publication based on a digital database
1972 - Dun & Bradstreet produces the first computer generated financial report on a minicomputer
1980 - Dun & Bradstreet passes $ 1 billion turnover and $ 100 million profit
1983 - Dun & Bradstreet develops DUNSNet, the telephone network of the company
1984 - Dun & Bradstreet takes over AC Nielsen
2001 - Dun & Bradstreet launches a new corporate identity and logo
2003 - Creates Dun & Bradstreet South Asia Middle East (D&B SAME)
2004 - Dun & Bradstreet UAE was set up
2014 - Dun & Bradstreet UAE acquired by CRIF GULF DWC LLC
2016 - Dun & Bradstreet Egypt acquired by CRIF Egypt Information and Technology
…and growing
Fun Facts
What infamous movie actress seductively posed with the Dun & Bradstreet Reference Book in 1953 from the movie –"How to Marry a Millionaire"?
Answer:
Marilyn Monroe
What four U.S. Presidents worked as reporters for Dun & Bradstreet?
Answer:
Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, Grover Cleveland & William McKinley
What Steven Spielberg film released in late 1997, covers the story of Lewis Tappan and his crusade to defend the rights of slaves?
Answer:
Amistad
What year was the D-U-N-S® Number 'born'?
Answer:
1963
Who was this 1863 journal entry about? – "is not much of a businessman, but had some capital, it is said, advanced by his father, who is reputed well off".
Answer:
J.D. Rockefeller – who turned out to be a good credit risk; 1863 was the year he set up a refinery that blossomed into Standard Oil.
Who temped for Dun & Bradstreet as a receptionist?
Answer:
Woody Harrelson
Which Dun & Bradstreet founder was the great grand nephew of Ben Franklin?
Answer:
Lewis Tappan
Egypt Information Technology operates 
in the Egypt territory.
is a member of Dun & Bradstreet Worldwide
Network (WWN) and represents
Dun & Bradstreet in the Egypt.
is a member of Dun & Bradstreet Worldwide
Network (WWN) and represents
Dun & Bradstreet in the Egypt.
Discover
Address
2 El Hegaz St., Roxy,
4th-floor HELIOPOLIS,
Cairo, Egypt
Contact us
E-mail: [email protected]