Thomas Beecham (chemist)
Thomas Beecham | |
---|---|
Born | 3 December 1820 Curbridge, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom |
Died | 6 April 1907 (aged 86) Southport, England, United Kingdom |
Occupation | Pharmacist, company founder |
Known for | Beechams Pharmaceutic company |
Family | Sir Joseph Beecham, 1st Baronet (son), Sir Thomas Beecham (grandson) |
Thomas Beecham (3 December 1820 – 6 April 1907) was the founder of Beechams, a large pharmaceutical business.
Career[]
Born in Curbridge in Oxfordshire, Beecham became a shepherd's boy at the age of 8 and it is in this role that he learnt about herbal medicine.[1]
For a while he worked as the village postman in Kidlington but in 1847 he moved to Wigan, where he started selling Beecham's Pills which were a laxative.[1] By 1859 he was based in St Helens where he started advertising as well as selling his pills.[1] He created a network of agents throughout Lancashire and Yorkshire and by 1880 he had expanded his business so much that he was able to open his first factory.[1]
In 1893 he moved to Southport, where he fully retired within three years.[1] He died in Southport in 1907 and is buried in St Helens.[1] He left £86,680 in his will.[2]
Family[]
In 1847 he married Jane Evans and together they went on to have two sons and two daughters.[1] He subsequently married Sarah Pemberton in 1873 and Mary Sawell in 1879.[1]
His elder son was Sir Joseph Beecham, 1st Baronet, and his grandson was the noted conductor Sir Thomas Beecham. His younger son was William Eardley Beecham.[3] A great grandchild was the poet Audrey Beecham.[4]
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h Corley, T. A. B. "Beecham, Thomas (1820–1907)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/30669. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- ^ "Word to Tradesmen". The Brecon and Radnor Express. 4 January 1917. p. 4d. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
- ^ Maclean, Charles Donald (1912). Dictionary of National Biography (2nd supplement). London: Smith, Elder & Co. .
- ^ Rachel Trickett, ‘Beecham, (Helen) Audrey (1915–1989)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 2012 accessed 13 March 2017
- 1820 births
- 1907 deaths
- Businesspeople in the pharmaceutical industry
- 19th-century British businesspeople