Businessman. He graduated from Hamilton College in 1887 and purchased Clinton Pharmaceutical Company in upstate New York with friend and fellow Hamilton alumnus William McLaren Bristol. He continued with the business, renamed Bristol, Myers and Company in 1898, until his death from pneumonia. Bristol, Myers was not immediately profitable, but proved successful after Myers's death when it produced and marketed Sal Hepatica, a laxative mineral salt that reproduced the taste and effects of the natural mineral springs of the famous spas in Bohemia. The company, renamed Bristol-Myers in 1900, attained another success with Ipana, a toothpaste advertised as a treatment for bleeding gums, which was the first to include a disinfectant in its formula. The success of these and other products helped turn Bristol-Myers into an international corporation which was publicly traded beginning in 1929, the year the shares owned by Myers's heirs became available for sale. Bristol-Myers continued as a leader in the pharmaceutical industry, and in 1989 merged with a competitor to create Bristol-Myers Squibb, one of the world's leaders in the health care industry. In 1912 Myers's stepmother established the still-existent John Ripley Myers Lecture Fund at Hamilton College to support annual talks on topics of interest not covered by the regular curriculum.
Businessman. He graduated from Hamilton College in 1887 and purchased Clinton Pharmaceutical Company in upstate New York with friend and fellow Hamilton alumnus William McLaren Bristol. He continued with the business, renamed Bristol, Myers and Company in 1898, until his death from pneumonia. Bristol, Myers was not immediately profitable, but proved successful after Myers's death when it produced and marketed Sal Hepatica, a laxative mineral salt that reproduced the taste and effects of the natural mineral springs of the famous spas in Bohemia. The company, renamed Bristol-Myers in 1900, attained another success with Ipana, a toothpaste advertised as a treatment for bleeding gums, which was the first to include a disinfectant in its formula. The success of these and other products helped turn Bristol-Myers into an international corporation which was publicly traded beginning in 1929, the year the shares owned by Myers's heirs became available for sale. Bristol-Myers continued as a leader in the pharmaceutical industry, and in 1989 merged with a competitor to create Bristol-Myers Squibb, one of the world's leaders in the health care industry. In 1912 Myers's stepmother established the still-existent John Ripley Myers Lecture Fund at Hamilton College to support annual talks on topics of interest not covered by the regular curriculum.
Bio by: Bill McKern
Family Members
Half Siblings
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