1-151-897 - Ann Ronan Picture Library/Heritage-Images

King Gillette's safety razor with replaceable blade, 1905. King Camp Gillette developed the disposable blade safety razor during the 1890s with engineer William Emery Nickerson. Gillette produced the first safety razors and disposable blades in 1903 and, by the end of 1904, had produced 40,000 razors and over 12 million blades. In 1999, Gillette made nearly $10 billion in sales in over 200 countries.