Our History

A Look Back to Our Start

In 1841, Lewis Tappan started a groundbreaking business in New York City to give American merchants reliable credit information. The Mercantile Agency was among the first to focus solely on providing valuable business insights.

By 1849, Tappan handed the Agency over to Benjamin Douglass, who took advantage of new transportation and communication advances to grow the network, bringing in more customers and better data. Douglass also pioneered the role of the credit reporter, a position that trained future U.S. Presidents like Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant in solid business practices.

Around the same time, the John M. Bradstreet Company was founded in Cincinnati and introduced commercial credit ratings, sparking intense competition with Douglass' Agency.

In 1859, Douglass passed the Agency to his brother-in-law, Robert Graham Dun, who rebranded it as R.G. Dun & Company. Dun expanded the Agency further, both nationally and internationally, continuing Tappan's legacy well into the next century.

Advancements in a New Millennium

Since the new century began, Dun & Bradstreet has continuously evolved to provide greater value to our customers. We expanded our focus from credit to broader areas like Finance, Marketing, Sales, Procurement, and Compliance.

We introduced the Dun & Bradstreet Data Cloud and Live Business Identity, significantly expanding our global coverage and data capabilities. Today, our Data Cloud houses hundreds of millions of records, covering most of the world’s GDP, offering insights into company risks and opportunities through advanced analytics and customizable scores.

Now, let's turn to what happened in India in the meantime…