It’s hard to believe that the first advertising agency was started by a woman in 1880 but it’s true, despite her not getting credit since she was a woman. The agency was M.C. Weil Agency in New York. In the history books, J. Walter Thompson gets all the credit for starting the first ad agency but this is false. She moved to America from Germany in the early 1870’s and worked as a translator. She spoke English, German, French and Spanish. She later worked as a writer for a newspaper and magazines. This led her into advertising when she began selling ad space for a German newspaper. From there she became a liaison for advertisers and publications as she ran her own agency out of the NY Time Building until she died in 1903.