Entrepreneur. He gained professional recognition as a soap maker, manufacturer, and philanthropist. He was the son of the wealthy William Colgate, founder of the Colgate Soap and Perfume Company in New York. After his father's death in 1857, he was the sole manager of the company, reorganizing the company and renaming it Colgate and Company. In 1872, he introduced Cashmere Bouquet, the world's first milled perfumed toilet soap. The following year, he introduced Colgate Toothpaste, an aromatic toothpaste sold in jars, which has been produced in various forms into the 21st century. In 1896, the paste was put in the tube, which was invented by the dentist Washington Sheffield. The same year, he built a research lab in New Jersey called Colgate-Palmolive Company with the aid of Harvard University chief chemist Martin Hill Ittner. A research team was developed. While benefiting Colgate's company, Ittner was the first United States chemist to develop methods for hydrogenation of fatty oils and received US patents for over a dozen of his finds for the manufacturing of toothpaste and detergent. In 1900, Colgate received worldwide recognition with top awards for soaps and perfumes at the World's Fair in Paris. Prominent in philanthropic work, for more than 30 years, he was a trustee of what became Colgate University in New York, a private liberal arts facility affiliated with the American Baptist Church. Going beyond giving merely one-tenth of the earnings to help God's work, he and his brother James donated millions of dollars to the facility, and the Colgate family remains supportive of the college for generations into the 21st century. He was an active member of the American Baptist Church, working with various home and foreign mission projects. One of his most noteworthy achievements for the American Baptist Church was the collection of 30,000 volumes of documentary records and reports. He died of heart disease.
Entrepreneur. He gained professional recognition as a soap maker, manufacturer, and philanthropist. He was the son of the wealthy William Colgate, founder of the Colgate Soap and Perfume Company in New York. After his father's death in 1857, he was the sole manager of the company, reorganizing the company and renaming it Colgate and Company. In 1872, he introduced Cashmere Bouquet, the world's first milled perfumed toilet soap. The following year, he introduced Colgate Toothpaste, an aromatic toothpaste sold in jars, which has been produced in various forms into the 21st century. In 1896, the paste was put in the tube, which was invented by the dentist Washington Sheffield. The same year, he built a research lab in New Jersey called Colgate-Palmolive Company with the aid of Harvard University chief chemist Martin Hill Ittner. A research team was developed. While benefiting Colgate's company, Ittner was the first United States chemist to develop methods for hydrogenation of fatty oils and received US patents for over a dozen of his finds for the manufacturing of toothpaste and detergent. In 1900, Colgate received worldwide recognition with top awards for soaps and perfumes at the World's Fair in Paris. Prominent in philanthropic work, for more than 30 years, he was a trustee of what became Colgate University in New York, a private liberal arts facility affiliated with the American Baptist Church. Going beyond giving merely one-tenth of the earnings to help God's work, he and his brother James donated millions of dollars to the facility, and the Colgate family remains supportive of the college for generations into the 21st century. He was an active member of the American Baptist Church, working with various home and foreign mission projects. One of his most noteworthy achievements for the American Baptist Church was the collection of 30,000 volumes of documentary records and reports. He died of heart disease.
Bio by: Linda Davis
Family Members
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