Charles Henry Phillips
Charles Henry Phillips (1822 – 1888) was an English pharmacist who is universally known for his invention Phillips' Milk of Magnesia. [1][2]
Early days
He moved to an estate at 666 Glenbrook Rd. in Glenbrook, a section of Stamford, Connecticut and established the Phillips Camphor and Wax Company in that community.
The antacid concept
It was in Stamford that he concocted and received a patent in 1873[3] for hydrate of magnesia mixed with water which he called Milk of Magnesia.
Final days, achievements and legacy
Phillips produced milk of magnesia as well as other pharmaceuticals at his Glenbrook firm, which incorporated in 1885 as the Charles H. Phillips Company. After Phillips' sudden death of apoplexy in New York on 29 October 1888,[4] his four sons ran the corporation until 1923, at which time it was acquired by Sterling Drug, Inc. Phillips' Milk of Magnesia is still manufactured today, but the last familiar blue bottle to be filled in Stamford was in 1976, when production at the Glenbrook plant was phased out. It is currently owned by Bayer.
References
- Lockhart, Bill, Shriever, Beau, and Serr, Carol. "The Bottles of Phillips Milk of Magnesia", Society for Historical Archaeology, April 23, 2018. https://sha.org/bottle/pdffiles/MilkOfMagnesia.pdf
- Goldstein, Malcolm A. "Sterling Products Inc. (V.2) - The Charles H. Phillips Chemical Co.", January 24, 2019. https://onbeyondholcombe.wordpress.com/2019/01/24/sterling-products-inc-v-2-the-charles-h-phillps-chemical-co/
- U.S. Patent No. 138,282. https://pdfpiw.uspto.gov/.piw?PageNum=0&docid=00138282
- Obituaries. The New York Times, October 31, 1888; The Sun, October 31, 1888; Chicago Tribune, November 3, 1888.
- "Made In Stamford - A History of Stamford as a Manufacturing Center". Made In Stamford. Archived from the original on October 25, 2005. Retrieved September 6, 2005.