Silas Mainville Burroughs (pharmacist)
Encyclopedia
Silas Mainville Burroughs, Jr. (December 24, 1846 – February 6, 1895) was an American
pharmaceutical businessman.
, he was the son of Silas Mainville Burroughs, Sr., his mother died when he was five and his father when he was 13. He grew up with his aunt and uncle, and started his professional career by working in shops and as a travelling pharmaceutical salesman, and graduated from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy in 1877.
In 1878, he travelled to London
(United Kingdom
) as an agent for John Wyeth & Bro (now Wyeth Pharmaceuticals - see Wyeth
) and founded Burroughs & Co., which imported American drugs into the UK. In 1880 his friend Henry Wellcome
joined the company and the name of the company was changed into Burroughs Wellcome & Company. In order to expand beyond his company world-wide Burroughs undertook a promotional world tour from 1880 to 1884.
During his life as a businessman, his Presbyterian and political beliefs strengthened, and he was attracted to Christian socialism
. His philanthropism
culminated in the foundation of the Livingstone Hospital at Dartford
. He died from pneumonia
in Monte Carlo
, aged 48.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
pharmaceutical businessman.
Biography
Born in Medina, New YorkMedina, New York
Medina is a village in the towns of Shelby and Ridgeway in Orleans County, New York, United States. The population was 6,415 at the 2000 census, making it the second most populous municipality in the county after Albion, the county seat. The village was named by its surveyor...
, he was the son of Silas Mainville Burroughs, Sr., his mother died when he was five and his father when he was 13. He grew up with his aunt and uncle, and started his professional career by working in shops and as a travelling pharmaceutical salesman, and graduated from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy in 1877.
In 1878, he travelled to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
(United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
) as an agent for John Wyeth & Bro (now Wyeth Pharmaceuticals - see Wyeth
Wyeth
Wyeth, formerly one of the companies owned by American Home Products Corporation , was a pharmaceutical company. The company was based in Madison, New Jersey, USA...
) and founded Burroughs & Co., which imported American drugs into the UK. In 1880 his friend Henry Wellcome
Henry Wellcome
Sir Henry Solomon Wellcome FRS was an American-British pharmaceutical entrepreneur. He founded the pharmaceutical company Burroughs Wellcome & Company with his colleague Silas Burroughs, which is one of the four large companies that merged to form GlaxoSmithKline...
joined the company and the name of the company was changed into Burroughs Wellcome & Company. In order to expand beyond his company world-wide Burroughs undertook a promotional world tour from 1880 to 1884.
During his life as a businessman, his Presbyterian and political beliefs strengthened, and he was attracted to Christian socialism
Christian socialism
Christian socialism generally refers to those on the Christian left whose politics are both Christian and socialist and who see these two philosophies as being interrelated. This category can include Liberation theology and the doctrine of the social gospel...
. His philanthropism
Philanthropy
Philanthropy etymologically means "the love of humanity"—love in the sense of caring for, nourishing, developing, or enhancing; humanity in the sense of "what it is to be human," or "human potential." In modern practical terms, it is "private initiatives for public good, focusing on quality of...
culminated in the foundation of the Livingstone Hospital at Dartford
Dartford
Dartford is the principal town in the borough of Dartford. It is situated in the northwest corner of Kent, England, east south-east of central London....
. He died from pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
in Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo is an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco....
, aged 48.
Sources
- Roy Church, 'The British Market for Medicine in the late Nineteenth Century: The Innovative Impact of S M Burroughs & Co', Medical History 2005 July 1; 49(3): 281–298 (online text as PDF)
- Chris Beckett, 'Attitudes to Political and Commercial Endorsement in the Business Papers of Silas Mainville Burroughs, with Particular Reference to Henry Morton Stanley', Medical History 2008 January 1; 52(1): 107–128 (online text as PDF)
- Ambition and Distraction: Silas Mainville Burroughs 1846-1895
- Silas Mainville Burroughs: The Forgotten Story
- Burroughs room