The company was started in 1927 by Italian immigrant Pietro "Peter" Mule (changed to Mole).
Born November 10, 1891, in the Italian town of Termini Imerese, Sicily, he first worked for General Electric (GE) in New York.
[2] During World War II, Mole-Richardson concentrated their efforts on developing searchlights for battleships, tanks and artillery units to aid the Allied Forces' battle in Europe and the Pacific.
In 1945, Peter Mole was invited to light the first United Nations conference held in San Francisco.
Mole-Richardson is considered by many to be the staple of motion picture and television lighting in the movie industry today, setting the standard for tungsten Fresnel fixtures.