Stanley Electric Stanley Electric Stanley Electric Co., Ltd. (, "Sutanrē Denki Kabushiki-gaisha") is a Japanese company, producing electric light sources. Stanley has 36 consolidated subsidiaries, three associated companies, 23 factories in eight countries, offices in 17 countries and over 16,000 employees. The main customers for its core business (automotive lighting) are Honda and Nissan. Other customers using Stanley's products include Toyota, Mazda, Suzuki, Mitsubishi, Ford and Chrysler. Stanley is listed in the TOPIX of the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The company was founded in 1920 by Takaharu Kitano, who named the company after the British-American explorer Henry Morton Stanley famous for exploring Africa.
European exploration of Africa Africa in Europe. In the mid-19th century, Protestant missions were carrying on active missionary work on the Guinea coast, in South Africa and in the Zanzibar dominions. Missionaries visited little-known regions and peoples, and in many instances became explorers and pioneers of trade and empire. David Livingstone, a Scottish missionary, had been engaged since 1840 in work north of the Orange River. In 1849, Livingstone crossed the Kalahari Desert from south to north and reached Lake Ngami. Between 1851 and 1856, he traversed the continent from west to east, discovering the great waterways of the upper Zambezi River. In November