Silas Burroughs arrived in London from America in 1878 and proved himself an exceptional entrepreneur, taking the pharmaceutical business by storm. He was the brains and energy behind Burroughs Wellcome & Co. With his business partner Henry Wellcome he created an internationally successful firm, the legacy of which can be found in the charity the Wellcome Trust, yet few now remember him and the impact he made in his short lifetime.A consummate salesman, Burroughs was also an astute businessman, with new ideas for marketing, advertising and manufacturing: his writings describe sales trips around the world and the people he met. He was also a visionary employer who supported the eight-hour working day, profit-sharing, and numerous social and radical political movements, including the single tax movement, free travel, Irish Home Rule and world peace. In this first biography of Burroughs, Julia Sheppard explores his American origins, his religion and marriage, and his philanthropic work, as well as re-evaluating the dramatic deterioration of his relationship with his partner Wellcome.
Julia Sheppard FRHistS graduated in history from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne and has spent her career working with military and medical archives. As Head of Research and Special Collections at the Wellcome Library, she was instrumental in the acquisition of Burroughs's papers, and he has fascinated her ever since. Her previous publications include British Archives: A Guide to Archive Resources in the United Kingdom. She was recently Chair of the British Records Association.
List of IllustrationsAbbreviationsBurroughs Family TreeForeword: Sir Jeremy FarrarAcknowledgements and SourcesIntroduction1. Father and Son2. On the Road3. London and S.M. Burroughs & Co.4. Brotherly Love and Henry Wellcome5. 'A Little Excursion'6. 'A Superficial Jaunt'? India and Ceylon7. The Antipodes8. 'This Lovely Opposite Sex'9. 'Bones of Contention' and Brotherly Strains10. Atlantic Crossings and Divided Lives11. Partnership in Crisis: The High Court12. Henry George and the Phoenix Mills Philosopher13. Citizen of the World14. Partnership in Peril15. 'Service to the Cause of People': Philanthropy and the Livingstone Hospital16. From London to Monte Carlo17. Olive versus WellcomePostscriptAppendix: Pharmacy and ChangeNotesReferences and BibliographyIndex
{\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252\deff0\deflang2057{\fonttbl{\f0\fnil\fcharset0 Verdana;}}{\colortbl ;\red0\green0\blue0;}\viewkind4\uc1\pard\hyphpar0\sa170\sl288\slmult1\qj\cf1\lang1033\f0\fs20 For too long, Silas Burroughs has stood in the shadows of his partner, Henry Wellcome. In this insightful and revealing book Julia Sheppard does a superb job of redressing the balance, revealing Burroughs\rquote s childhood and education, and his increasingly difficult relationship with Wellcome. Based on extensive original research, this is a beautifully written and entertaining biography.\parStuart Anderson, Emeritus Professor of Pharmacy History, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine\par\par\pard\hyphpar0\sa170\sl252\slmult1\qj Besides a thoroughly engaging story of the American-born entrepreneur, manuf\-acturer and advertising innovator, Julia Sheppard has also given us an important and fascinating insight into the history of the British drug industry and the making of a global pharmaceutical market. This is biography at its very best.\parJohn Harley Warner, Avalon Professor of the History of Medicine, Yale University\par\parJulia Sheppard has written the definitive biography of Silas Burroughs, the dynamic young American behind one of Victorian Britain\rquote s most successful (yet fraught) business partnerships, a major forerunner of today\rquote s Big Pharma.\parChristine Macleod, Professor Emerita of History, University of Bristol\par\par\pard\hyphpar0\sl252\slmult1\qj Julia Sheppard sets the record straight with an enlightening account of Silas Burroughs\rquote s life and the importance of the part he played in the creation of an extraordinarily successful institution.\parAnne Hardy, Honorary Professor, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine\par\parThere\rquote s much in this book for the business historian. For one thing, it reveals how marketing was done through feet on the ground and knocks on doors. For another, it gives insight into complex partnership dynamics.\parJohn Orbell, Business Archivist and Business Historian\par\parSilas Burroughs\rquote early death, and his bitter feud with his partner Henry Wellcome, has relegated him to a minor role in the story of their pharmaceutical empire. Julia Sheppard\rquote s absorbing biography recovers his vital contribution to their joint enterprise, and sets it in the context of a vigorous life of commercial success, globetrotting travels and excursions into radical politics.\parMike Jay, Author and Cultural Historian \par\pard\cf0\lang2057\par}Burroughs 'made Wellcome' by creating the partnership in 1880, however within a decade he attempted to undermine Wellcome and end the partnership. Sheppard's narrative indicates a more complicated history than is implied by the title and invites alternative appraisals of Burroughs's achievements.Roy Church In Economic History Review, May, 2024
