Discussing UNIX shells wise, I like bash, but that's not the point of this writeup.
Shell is owned by the
Royal Dutch Shell Group. It was founded in 1907 when the company, a
British importer of
mother-of-pearl, (Then
Royal Dutch Shell Company.) decided to go in to the
oil business. The company did well, using the growing
American demand for fuel in the 1900s, their first station opened in Washington in 1912. In 1922, the company merged with
Union Oil of Delaware becoming a publicly owned company by the name of Shell Union Oil Company. It became privately owned in 1985 when its current owner regained complete control.
Researched from: Kaszynski, William. The American Highway.