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Katherine Johnson’s mathematical calculations helped guide some of America’s most important early space missions while she confronted the racial and gender barriers faced by Black women in twentieth-century America.
MORE →Reflects the personal views, recollections, and perspective of the author, Mike Davis.
This is a personal recollection on the Move fire on May 13, 1985
| The Beecham Group plc | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Beecham's Clock Tower built in 1877; the building still stands in St Helens, Merseyside, today serving as the College Administrative centre. | |
| Industry | Pharmaceuticals |
| Founded | 1859 |
| Defunct | 1989 |
| Fate | Merged with SmithKline Beckman |
| Successor | SmithKline Beecham (later GlaxoSmithKline, now Haleon) |
| Headquarters | London, United Kingdom |
| Products | Phenethicillin, Methicillin |
| Parent | GlaxoSmithKline |
The Beecham Group plc was a British pharmaceutical company. It was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. Founded by Thomas Beecham who opened the first factory in St Helens, Lancashire in 1859, Beecham focused on marketing the business by advertising in newspapers and using a network of wholesale agents in northern England and in London, rapidly building up the business.[1] In August 1859 he created the slogan for Beecham's Pills: "Worth a guinea a box", considered to be the world's first advertising slogan, which helped the business become a global brand.[2]
Beecham, after having merged with American pharmaceutical company SmithKline Beckman to become SmithKline Beecham, merged with Glaxo Wellcome to become GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). GSK (and later, Haleon) still uses the Beechams brand name in the UK for its over-the-counter cold and flu relief products.[3]
Beecham began as the family business of Thomas Beecham (1820–1907). (Beecham would become the grandfather of music conductor Thomas Beecham, 1879–1961). As a boy, Beecham worked as a shepherd, selling herbal remedies as a sideline.
He later became a travelling salesman or peddler full time. His first product was Beecham's Pills, a laxative, in 1842.[4] Subsequent success enabled him to open a shop in Wigan in 1847.[5] Beecham opened its first factory in 1859, in St Helens, Lancashire, for the rapid production of medicines.[4] In August 1859, Beechams created a slogan for Beecham's Pills: "Beechams Pills: Worth a guinea a box", which is considered to be the world's first advertising slogan.[2] First appearing in the St Helens Intelligencer, the Beechams adverts would appear in newspapers all over the world, helping the company become a global brand.[2][6] The phrase was first said to be uttered by a satisfied lady purchaser from St Helens, the founder's home town.[6][7] Under the founder's son, Sir Joseph Beecham, 1st Baronet (1848–1916), the business expanded, but remained a patent medicine company and engaged in little research.
In 1924, Philip Ernest Hill (1873–1944),[8][9] who made his money in real estate, acquired control of Beecham's as Beecham Estates and Pills Ltd.[10][11] Under his leadership, the company bought up other companies for their various products and for their marketing infrastructure, acquiring the Lucozade glucose drink and Macleans toothpaste in 1938, and, at the same time, introducing the Ribena blackcurrant drink.[12] In 1938, it also bought the company selling Eno which had an extensive international presence.[11][13]: 253 By purchasing the company manufacturing Brylcreem the following year, the company added hair products for men to its offerings.[4]
In 1943, the company decided to focus more on improving research and built Beecham Research Laboratories at Brockham Park, Surrey. In 1945, the company was renamed Beecham Group Ltd.[4] in 1953, Beecham acquired C.L. Bencard, which specialised in allergy vaccines.[4]
Beecham Research Laboratories opened a four-acre site around October 1969 in Harlow in Essex, with 80 staff.[14] In 1997 this became the SmithKline Beecham New Frontiers Science Park.
In 1959, Beecham scientists at Brockham Park announced that they had discovered the penicillin nucleus, 6-APA (6-aminopenicillanic acid);[15] This discovery allowed Beecham, working in tandem with Bristol-Myers, to synthesize a number of new semisynthetic penicillins. Beecham marketed Broxil (phenethicillin), followed shortly by the more potent Celbenin (methicillin), which was active against Staphylococcus aureus. The group continued to focus on pharmaceutical development, producing further semi-synthetic penicillins. However, when Penbritin (ampicillin) came on the market in 1961, Beecham's facilities were soon inadequate for the worldwide demand for the drug. A 35-acre (140,000 m2) complex at Worthing came on line in the early 1960s, to produce phenethicillin, followed by the ability to produce 6-APA, the base for semisynthetic penicillins.
The company continued to add products, and acquire other companies, through the 1970s and 1980s. In 1971, the S. E. Massengill Company was acquired. Beecham launched Amoxil (amoxicillin) in 1972, which went on to become one of the most widely prescribed antibiotics.[4]
In 1973, Aquafresh toothpaste was launched, and in 1977, the Sucrets brand was acquired. Augmentin, an antibiotic used to treat an array of bacterial infections, was introduced in 1981.[4] J.B. Williams Co., Inc. was acquired from Nabisco in 1982[16] for US$100 million (approximately £59 million),[17] which included brands Aqua Velva, Geritol, and Sominex − the U.S. formulation − along with others.[18]
In 1986, the Beecham Group sold its numerous soft drink brands including Tango, Top Deck, Corona, and Quosh, as well as the UK franchises for Pepsi and 7 Up, to Britvic.[19] The same year, Beecham acquired Norcliff Thayer from Revlon.
As the turn of the century approached, there were more significant mergers. In 1989, The Beecham Group plc and SmithKline Beckman merged to form SmithKline Beecham plc.[4][20] In 2000, SmithKline Beecham and GlaxoWellcome merged to form GlaxoSmithKline.[21]
A history of the company, Beechams, 1848–2000: From Pills to Pharmaceuticals, written by Thomas Anthony Buchanan Corley, was published in 2011.[22]
Beecham's Powders is a cold and flu remedy sold in the UK. The medicine is a white powder wrapped in a paper sachet. The powder is mixed with water and then drunk in suspension. The active ingredients are caffeine and aspirin, the effects of taking this remedy are the lowering of body temperature, reduction in aches and pains, along with a mild return of energy. This medicine is often used by people who need to continue working despite having a cold or mild flu.
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Source: Wikipedia. Article content is retrieved live through the MediaWiki API.
The Beecham Group plc was a British pharmaceutical company. It was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. Founded by Thomas Beecham who opened the first factory in St Helens, Lancashire in 1859, Beecham focused on marketing the business by advertising in newspapers and using a network of wholesale agents in northern England and in London, rapidly building up the business. In August 1859 he created the slogan for Beecham's Pills: "Worth a guinea a box", considered to be the world's first advertising slogan, which helped the business become a global brand. Beecham, after having merged with American pharmaceutical company SmithKline Beckman to become SmithKline Beecham, merged with Glaxo Wellcome to become GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). GSK (and later, Haleon) still uses the Beechams brand name in the UK for its over-the-counter cold and flu relief products.
Tango is a British carbonated soft drink brand owned and manufactured by Carlsberg Britvic subsidiary Britvic, primarily marketed in Britain and Ireland. The drink is made and sold in various flavours consisting of real fruit, such as orange, apple, cherry or mango. The Tango brand has also been extended into slushies (Tango Ice Blast) and non-drink products like bonbon sweets. Tango was launched as an orangeade drink in April 1958 by Porth-based Corona Soft Drinks. Tango differentiated from regular Corona with the addition of real fruit and was sweetened with real sugar. The Beecham Group bought Corona and hence the Tango product in September 1958. Since October 1986, Tango has been owned by Britvic, which since 2025 has been merged with Carlsberg Group. The brand has been well known for its viral marketing approach, especially humorous adverts broadcast on television in Britain in the 1990s from the Howell Henry Chaldecott Lury advertising agency. Tango's politically incorrect ad campaigns have earned both praise for its humour as well as complaints.
Lucozade is a British brand of soft drinks and energy drinks manufactured and marketed by the Japanese company Suntory. Created as "Glucozade" by a Newcastle pharmacist, William Walker Hunter (trading as W. Owen & Son), it was acquired by the pharmaceutical company Beecham's in 1938 and sold as Lucozade, an energy drink for the sick. It was sold mostly in pharmacies up until the 1980s before it was more readily available as a sports drink across Britain. A glucose and water solution, the product was sold until 1983 as a carbonated, slightly orange-flavoured drink in a glass bottle wrapped in cellophane. Pharmacists sold it, children were given it when ill, and hospital visitors would regularly arrive with a bottle. It was rebranded in 1978 as a "pick me up", and as a sports drink in 1983, to associate it with health rather than sickness. The company switched to a plastic bottle and introduced a range of flavours. As of 2016, a 500 ml bottle contained 62 g (15.5 cubes) of sugar, more than Coca-Cola. In 2017, to avoid the sugar tax, the drink was reformulated to contain 22.5 g of sugar per 500 ml of liquid, as well as the artificial sweeteners aspartame and acesulfame K. In 2023, it was reformulated again. It still contains the same amount of sugar, and features the sweeteners Acesulfame K, and Sucralose. Lucozade is the highest-selling energy drink in Britain and Ireland, and it has also been sold in markets in Africa, Asia and Australasia. In 1989, the Beecham Group merged to form SmithKline Beecham, which further merged in 2000 to form GlaxoSmithKline. In September 2013, GlaxoSmithKline sold Lucozade and another soft drink, Ribena, to the Japanese drinks conglomerate Suntory for £1.35 billion.
Corona was a brand of carbonated soft drink produced by Thomas & Evans Ltd in South Wales, and distributed across the United Kingdom. The firm was created by grocers William Thomas and William Evans when they saw a market for soft drinks caused by the growing influence of the temperance movement. The company's first factory was based in Porth, Rhondda, eventually expanding to 87 depots and factories throughout Britain. Corona was sold to the Beecham Group in 1958 and subsequently to Britannia Soft Drinks, parent company of Britvic in 1987, but stopped trading as a brand in the late 1990s.
Before the 1921 destruction of Tulsa’s Greenwood District, Black residents had created a remarkable center of business and community life. The district included stores, professional offices, entertainment venues and homes owned by Black citizens. Understanding Greenwood means learning what was built—not only what was burned.
MORE →Shirley Chisholm, elected in 1968.
