James Cook Ayer (May 5, 1818 – July 3, 1878) was the wealthiest

patent medicine A patent medicine (sometimes called a proprietary medicine) is a non-prescription medicine or medicinal preparation that is typically protected and advertised by a trademark and trade name, and claimed to be effective against minor disorders a ...

businessman of his day.

Early life

James Cook Ayer was born in

Groton, Connecticut Groton ( ) is a town in New London County, Connecticut, United States, located on the Thames River (Connecticut), Thames River. It is the home of General Dynamics Electric Boat, which is the major contractor for submarine work for the United St ...

, on May 5, 1818, the son of Frederick Ayer (1792-1825) and Persis Herrick Cook (1786-1880). After his mother remarried, James Ayer and his brother

Frederick Ayer Frederick Ayer (December 8, 1822 – March 14, 1918) was an American businessman and the younger brother of patent medicine tycoon James Cook Ayer. Early life Ayer was born on December 8, 1822, in Ledyard, Connecticut, and was the son of F ...

moved to

Lowell, Massachusetts Lowell () is a city in Massachusetts, United States. Alongside Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge, it is one of two traditional county seat, seats of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middlesex County. With an estimated population of 115,554 in ...

, and lived with his uncle, James Cook. He attended Lowell High School in 1838, after which he was apprenticed to James C. Robbins, a druggist in Lowell. While there he studied medicine, and later he graduated from the medical school of the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

Career

Ayer never practiced medicine, but devoted his principal attention to

pharmaceutical chemistry Medicinal or pharmaceutical chemistry is a scientific discipline at the intersection of chemistry and pharmacy involved with drug design, designing and developing pharmaceutical medication, drugs. Medicinal chemistry involves the identification, ...

and the compounding of medicines. His success in this line was very great, and soon led him to establish a factory in Lowell for the manufacture of his medicinal preparations, which became one of the largest of its kind in the world, and was magnificently equipped. He accumulated a fortune estimated at $20,000,000. Much of his success was due to his advertising, on which he spent $140,000 a year, and he annually published an

almanac An almanac (also spelled almanack and almanach) is a regularly published listing of a set of current information about one or multiple subjects. It includes information like weather forecasting, weather forecasts, farmers' sowing, planting dates ...

, distributing 5,000,000 copies each year. Editions in English, French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish, were regularly issued. In 1874 he accepted the Republican nomination for the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

in the 7th Massachusetts District, but was defeated. In addition to his patent medicine business, Dr. Ayer was involved in textile production in

, with his brother.

Personal life

In 1850, Ayer married Josephine Mellen Southwick (1827–1898). They had three children: * Frederick Fanning Ayer (1851–1924) * Henry Southwick Ayer (1853–1932) * Lesley Josephine Ayer Pearson (1855–1928) His son, Frederick Fanning Ayer became a lawyer and philanthropist, and was director or stockholder of many corporations.Short Bio on F.F. Ayer, 1914
/ref> He died in an insane asylum on July 3, 1878, and is interred at Lowell Cemetery.

Legacy

The monument at Ayer's gravesite, a life-size marble lion sculpted by

Albert Bruce-Joy Albert Bruce-Joy (21 August 1842 – 22 July 1924) was an Irish sculptor working in England. His original surname was Joy but he became known under his hyphenated name Bruce-Joy later in life. He was the brother of the painter George W. Joy. B ...

, is one of the best known at Lowell Cemetery. The town of Ayer, Mass., was named after him.

Gallery

File:Ayers Cherry Pectoral, Penns Treaty Wellcome L0041348.jpg, Advert for Ayers Cherry Pectoral File:Ayers Ague Cure Wellcome L0041352.jpg, Advert for Ayers Ague Cure File:Ayers pills, The fight for the standard Wellcome L0041349.jpg, Advert for Ayers Pills File:Ayers cathartic pills Wellcome L0041351.jpg, Advert for Ayers Cathartic Pills File:Ayer's Hair Vigor for the toilet restores gray hair to its natural vitality and color. - DPLA - 44e39fad3c7d227ad58cb63c4633c625 (page 1).jpg, Ayer's Hair Vigor for the toilet restores gray hair to its natural vitality and color, a. 1870-1900 19th Century American Trade Cards Collection, Boston Public Library

References

External links

Article about Dr Ayer

With more information about his products and life. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ayer, James Cook American manufacturing businesspeople Businesspeople from Massachusetts Ayer, Massachusetts 1818 births 1878 deaths People of the American Industrial Revolution Patent medicine businesspeople People from Groton, Connecticut Businesspeople from Lowell, Massachusetts Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania alumni Deaths in mental institutions 19th-century American businesspeople Burials at Lowell Cemetery (Lowell, Massachusetts)