CliffsNotes (originally “Cliff’s Notes”) was created in 1958 by Clifton Hillegass in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Brief origin

  • The guides began as U.S. adaptations of Canadian “Coles Notes,” after Hillegass obtained the American rights from Toronto bookseller Jack Cole.
  • Hillegass and his wife started the business in their basement, launching with 16 Shakespeare study guides in that first year.

Key details in one glance

  • Creation year: 1958.
  • Founder: Clifton (Cliff) Hillegass, a Nebraska native working in textbook distribution.
  • First products: Sixteen Shakespeare titles, which sold tens of thousands of copies by the end of 1958.

TL;DR: CliffsNotes was created in 1958 by Cliff Hillegass, who launched it from his basement with a line of Shakespeare study guides.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.