The Meade Telescopes Company is a world leader in the design and manufacture of telescopes and accessories for amateur astronomers. The Meade Company was founded in 1972 and went public in 1997. Meade Instruments began with only $2,500, they used this capital as a mail-order supplier of small refracting telescopes.

By 1977 the Meade Telescope Company was offering a wide range of telescope parts and accessories. Meade's range of accessories allowed them to manufacture their own telescopes. Meade's first models were the 628 and 826 6" and 8" reflecting telescopes. American amateur astronomers found that they had, really for the first time, a telescope manufacturer that provided a quality product at a reasonable price.

The 6" and 8" Meade reflecting telescopes were an incredible success so much that the Meade Company faced a 6-month backlog. Normally there is a 6 to 8 week delivery time, but the Meade Company still wrote every customer explaining the backlog situation of their telescopes, and offered a full and immediate refund if the extra waiting time was unacceptable.

Few accepted the offer, and they were able to ship all of the back-ordered telescopes.

In September 1980, Meade announced its new telescope, Model 2080. Since that time Meade has come out with exciting new telescopes and accessories. By 1986 Meade Instruments was generally acknowledged as the largest, and the leader in manufacturing serious telescopes.