1946: The first line of home utility drills is introduced after Alonzo G. Decker Jr., son of company's founder, notices that workers were stealing industrial power drills from defense contractors. They took the drills, then not available at local hardware stores, to do home improvements. The firm begins making electric drills, drill-bit sets, portable circular saws, jigsaws and sanders for the do-it-yourself market.
1961: Black & Decker introduces the DustBuster cordless vacuum. It also brought out a battery-powered drill - the first of a type widely sold today.
1968: Black & Decker develops a no-torque, cordless power drill used on the Apollo 16 and 17 missions to the moon. The drill is used to drill the moon's surface in the early 1970s.
