SmithKline & French

SmithKline & French was a pharmaceutical company, which is now part of GlaxoSmithKline.

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History

In 1830, John K Smith opens a drugstore in Philadelphia, and his younger brother, George, joins him in 1841 to form John K Smith & Co. In 1865, Mahlon Kline joins Smith and Shoemaker, as John K Smith and Co had become in the meantime, as a bookkeeper. In 1875 he took on additional responsibilities as a salesman and added many new and large accounts, as a reward the company, Mahlon K Smith and Company, is renamed into Smith, Kline and Company.

In 1891, Smith, Kline and Company acquires French, Richards and Company, which provides the company with a greater portfolio of consumer brands. In 1929 Smith, Kline and French Company is renamed into Smith Kline and French Laboratories and the company puts more focus on research in order to sustain its business. In 1968, the company acquires Recherche et Industrie Thérapeutiques in Belgium and changes its name in SmithKline-RIT.

SmithKline acquires Allergan in 1982, an eye and skincare business, and merges with Beckman Instruments Inc, a company specialising in diagnostics and measurement instruments and supplies. After the merger the company is renamed SmithKline Beckman.

Source

• History of GSK