Charles Henry Phillips (1822–1888) was an English

pharmacist A pharmacist, also known as a chemist in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English, is a healthcare professional who is knowledgeable about preparation, mechanism of action, clinical usage and legislation of medications in ...

, known for his invention ''Phillips' Milk of Magnesia''.

Early days

He moved from England to an estate at 666 Glenbrook Rd. in Glenbrook, a section of Stamford,

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

and established the ''Phillips

Camphor Camphor () is a waxy, colorless solid with a strong aroma. It is classified as a terpenoid and a cyclic ketone. It is found in the wood of the camphor laurel (''Cinnamomum camphora''), a large evergreen tree found in East Asia; and in the kapu ...

and Wax Company'' there.

The antacid concept

In Stamford he concocted and received a patent in 1873 for '' hydrate of magnesia mixed with water'' which he called ''

Milk of Magnesia Magnesium hydroxide is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula Mg(OH)2. It occurs in nature as the mineral brucite. It is a white solid with low solubility in water (). Magnesium hydroxide is a common component of antacids, such as milk o ...

''.

Final days, achievements and legacy

Phillips produced milk of magnesia and other pharmaceuticals at his Glenbrook firm, which incorporated in 1885 as the ''Charles H. Phillips Company''. After Phillips' death of

apoplexy Apoplexy () refers to the rupture of an internal organ and the associated symptoms. Informally or metaphorically, the term ''apoplexy'' is associated with being furious, especially as "apoplectic". Historically, it described what is now known as a ...

in New York on 29 October 1888,Obituaries. The New York Times, October 31, 1888; The Sun, October 31, 1888; Chicago Tribune, November 3, 1888. his four sons ran the corporation until 1923, when it was acquired by ''

Sterling Drug Sterling Drug was an American based global pharmaceutical company. It was also known as Sterling Winthrop, Inc., after the merger with Winthrop-Stearns Inc. which itself resulted from the merger of Winthrop Chemical Company Inc. and Frederick Ste ...

, Inc''. ''Phillips' Milk of Magnesia'' is still manufactured today. The final blue bottle was filled in 1976, when production at the Glenbrook plant was phased out. Sterling, and its ''Phillips' Milk of Magnesia'', was purchased by

Bayer Bayer AG (English: , commonly pronounced ; ) is a German multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company and is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies and biomedical companies in the world. Headquartered in Leverkusen, Bayer' ...

in 1994.

References

* 1822 births 1888 deaths English pharmacists 19th-century British pharmacists {{UK-med-bio-stub