Smith, Kline & French

Smith, Kline & French
Industry	Pharmaceutical
Founded	1830
Founder	John K. Smith
Defunct	1989; 33 years ago
Fate	Merged with The Beecham Group plc to form SmithKline Beecham
Successor	SmithKline Beecham (1989–2000); GlaxoSmithKline (2000–present)

Smith, Kline & French (SKF) was an American pharmaceutical company.

History[]

In 1830, John K. Smith opened a drugstore in Philadelphia, and his younger brother, George, joined him in 1841 to form John K Smith & Co. In 1865, Mahlon Kline joined Smith and Shoemaker, as John K Smith and Co had become in the meantime, as a bookkeeper. In 1875, he took on additional responsibilities as a salesman and added many new and large accounts, as a reward the company, Mahlon K Smith and Company, was renamed into Smith, Kline and Company.

In 1891, Smith, Kline and Company acquired French, Richards and Company, founded in 1844 by Clayton French and William Richards, which provided the company with a greater portfolio of consumer brands. In 1929 Smith, Kline and French Company was renamed into Smith Kline and French Laboratories and the company put more focus on research in order to sustain its business.

In 1932, SKF chemist Gordon Alles was awarded a patent for amphetamine.^[1]

In 1968, the company acquired Recherche et Industrie Thérapeutiques in Belgium and changed its name in SmithKline-RIT.

SmithKline acquired Allergan in 1982, an eye and skincare business, and merged with Beckman Instruments, Inc., a company specialising in diagnostics and measurement instruments and supplies. After the merger the company was renamed SmithKline Beckman.

SmithKline Beckman and The Beecham Group plc merged in 1989 to form SmithKline Beecham plc. Later Merged with Glaxo Wellcome to form GlaxoSmithKline in 2000.

References[]

^ Glenn E. Ullyot, Barbara Hodsdon Ullyot, and Leo B. Slater (2000). "THE METAMORPOHSIS OF SMITH-KLINE & FRENCH LABORATORIES TO SMITH KLINE BEECHAM: 1925-1998" (PDF). Bull. Hist. Chem. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, School of Chemical Sciences. 25 (1). Retrieved December 16, 2017.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)

External links[]

History of GSK

[1] Glenn E. Ullyot, Barbara Hodsdon Ullyot, and Leo B. Slater (2000). "THE METAMORPOHSIS OF SMITH-KLINE & FRENCH LABORATORIES TO SMITH KLINE BEECHAM: 1925-1998" (PDF). Bull. Hist. Chem. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, School of Chemical Sciences. 25 (1). Retrieved December 16, 2017.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)

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