Short answers, pulled from the story.
Weblogs, Inc. was founded in September 2003 by Jason Calacanis and Brian Alvey, with backing from investor Mark Cuban. Calacanis had previously run Silicon Alley Reporter magazine before launching the blog network.
AOL acquired Weblogs, Inc. for a reported $25 million in October 2005. The purchase came as AOL was preparing to become an independent division within Time Warner.
At its peak, Weblogs, Inc. ran as many as 90 blogs, including Engadget, Autoblog, Joystiq, TUAW, Luxist, Slashfood, Cinematical, TV Squad, Download Squad, Blogging Baby, Gadling, AdJab, and Blogging Stocks. Engadget and Autoblog are the only titles still publishing today.
Engadget was co-founded by Peter Rojas, who had previously served as editor of Gizmodo within the rival Gawker Media network. Engadget launched in March 2004 as a stand-alone site covering new technology.
Both Joystiq and TUAW were shut down on the 3rd of February 2015, and folded into Engadget. TUAW's archives were republished on Engadget at the time of its closure.
Following AOL's $315 million acquisition of The Huffington Post in February 2011, the former Weblogs, Inc. blogs were reorganized under the Huffington Post Media Group. The Huffington Post editorial team took oversight of AOL's blogs, leading to controversies including the departure of TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington.