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The story of the Lilly family begins with its patriarch, Col. Eli Lilly. Born in 1838, in Baltimore, Maryland, Lilly was a pharmacist who had served as a Union officer in the Civil War. He opened his first drug store in 1860 and in 1867 acquired a laboratory on Pearl Street in Indianapolis, which would become the base of operations for the Eli Lilly and Company.
Today, Eli Lilly and Co. is a global, research-based pharmaceutical powerhouse, employing more than 41,000 people worldwide and marketing its medicines in 158 countries. Lilly has major research and development facilities in nine countries, conducts clinical trials in more than 60 countries, and in 2002 their net sales surpassed the $11 billion mark.
As a Civil War veteran and practiced chemist his late 30s, Lilly became frustrated with the ineffective medicines of his day and decided he could do a better job manufacturing medicine of the highest quality. Lilly wanted nothing to do with the ineffective medicines pedaled by street hucksters. He decided to develop medicine’s that would be recommended by physicians – based on the best scientific information available at the time.
In 1886, he hired a full-time scientist to help takes his company to the next level. Working with this new chemist, Lilly developed new standards for quality evaluation and later expanded into the research, discovery and development of new pharmaceuticals. One of his company’s early innovative processes, gelatin-coated pills, helped establish the future of the company.
Lilly was a benefactor to the community in many ways. He formed the Consumers' Gas Trust Co. in 1888 and in 1893 he chaired a committee to help those affected by that year's financial panic. He also donated money to build a children’s hospital and organized the “Indianapolis plan of relief” (1894), which became a model for helping the unemployed.
When Col. Lilly died in 1889, his son Josiah K. Lilly Sr. took over the company. In his early years with the company, Lilly dedicated himself to finding methods to make the production process more efficient. This resulted in the first successful large-scale production of insulin in 1923, which in turn attracted talented scientists to the company and led to additional medical breakthroughs and advances.
Lilly’s two grandsons, Eli Lilly and Josiah K. Lilly Jr., would each also serve a term as president of Eli Lilly and Company. While each had their own unique management style, both contributed to what remains the cornerstone of the company’s philosophy today – that its employees are its most valuable assets.
Born on April 1, 1885, Eli Lilly was the son of Josiah and Lilly (Ridgely) Lilly. He was named president of Eli Lilly and Co. in 1932 and in 1934 the company made its first venture overseas, opening an office in England.
The younger Eli Lilly donated millions of dollars to charity, both personally and through the Lilly Endowment, established in 1937 by Eli Lilly and Co. Over the last 30 years of his life he silently became one of the greatest philanthropists of our time.
Eli Lilly died on Jan. 24, 1977, but his legacy was highlighted in 2002, when his niece Ruth Lilly stunned the literary establishment by giving $100 million to the Chicago-based Modern Poetry Association. Ms. Lilly, 87, has created estate plans that provide an estimated $520 million to Indiana nonprofit groups and several arts organizations.
With over $10 billion in assets, the Lilly Endowment is one of the biggest givers in the United States, making the majority of its grants in the areas of religion, education and community development. In 2002, Lilly Endowment Corp. gave out over $557 million in grants.
For more information about Lilly Endowment Corp. please visit:
http://www.lillyendowment.org/
For more information about Eli Lilly and Co. please visit:
http://www.lilly.com
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