Sir Harry Jephcott, 1st Baronet
Encyclopedia
Sir Harry Jephcott, 1st Baronet (15 January 1891 – 29 May 1978) was a British pharmaceutical industrialist.
, a grammar school
in Birmingham
. In 1907, he was apprenticed to a pharmacist
in Redditch
.
He joined Customs and Excise in 1912 and was seconded to the department of the government chemist in 1914. Meanwhile he studied part-time at West Ham Technical Institute and in 1915 graduated with a first class Bachelor of Science
in chemistry
at the University of London
. He gained the diploma of pharmaceutical chemist in 1916, took a Master's degree
in 1918 with a thesis on tobacco
. He was elected to be a Fellow of the Royal Institute of Chemistry
in 1920.
, under the trade name of Glaxo. Jephcott worked on quality control
. In 1923 visited the USA to meet other scientists. He obtained a licence to fortify Glaxo powder with antirachitic vitamin D
, using Theodore Zucker's process for the extraction of the vitamin from fish-liver oil
. In 1924, he instigated Glaxo to start production of its first pharmaceutical product, Ostelin. This was the earliest commercially-made vitamin concentrate in Great Britain
.
Jephcott was cognitive of new scientific ideas, had an interest in pharmaceutical sales, and was a good business strategist who understood company administration as well. His understanding of patent law with respect to pharmaceuticals led him to study for the bar and to be called to the Middle Temple
in 1925. He was promoted to be general manager
of the Glaxo department in 1925, a director of Joseph Nathan in 1929, managing director of the newly formed Glaxo Laboratories (GL) in 1935, and of the parent company
in 1939.
During World War II
, Jephcott was adviser on manufactured foods to the Ministry of Food (1941–43) and chairman of the Therapeutic Research Corporation in 1943. He visited the USA on behalf of the Ministry of Supply
in 1944 to report on penicillin
production, which helped enable Glaxo Laboratories to build factories for penicillin production by deep fermentation under licence from two American companies, Merck & Co.
and Squibb. This established his company as a major force in the British pharmaceutical industry. By 1995, it became the largest pharmaceutical group in the world.
Harry Jephcott organised the public flotation of Glaxo Laboratories in 1947. He retired as managing director in 1956. However, as non-executive chairman was largely responsible when his company took control of other pharmaceutical businesses, for example Allen & Hanburys
in 1958. From 1963, he was appointed honorary life president.
(1956–61). He was a director of the Metal Box Company (1950–64). He was Chairman and then President of the Association of British Chemical Manufacturers (1947–55), President of the Royal Institute of Chemistry
(1953–55), and a governor of the London School of Economics
(1952–68).
Jephcott was knighted in 1946 and created a Baronet
in 1962.
, near Redditch
, Worcestershire
, England
.
He was the youngest of five children (three of them sons). His father was John Josiah Jephcott (1853–1929), train driver and former miner. His mother was Helen (1849–1930), daughter of Charles Matthews.
Jephcott married his wife Doris (1893–1985), daughter of Henry Gregory, a builder, on 19 April 1919. She was a pharmaceutical chemist before her marriage. They had two sons.
Jephcott lived from 1928 until his death in Pinner
, Middlesex
. He also bought farms at East Portlemouth
in Devon
.
Jephcott founded the Jephcott Charitable Trust in 1965.
This provides funding for education, health, the natural environment, and population control.
He donated 35 acres (141,640.1 m²) of coastline to the National Trust
.
Harry Jephcott died of heart failure at Northwick Park Hospital
, Harrow
, west London
.
Education
Harry Jephcott was educated at King Edward VI Camp HillKing Edward VI Camp Hill
King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys is a grammar school in Kings Heath, Birmingham for ages of 11 to 18 . One of the seven establishments of the Foundation of the Schools of King Edward VI, it is a voluntary aided school, with admission by selective exam...
, a grammar school
Grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...
in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
. In 1907, he was apprenticed to a pharmacist
Pharmacist
Pharmacists are allied health professionals who practice in pharmacy, the field of health sciences focusing on safe and effective medication use...
in Redditch
Redditch
Redditch is a town and local government district in north-east Worcestershire, England, approximately south of Birmingham. The district had a population of 79,216 in 2005. In the 19th century it became the international centre for the needle and fishing tackle industry...
.
He joined Customs and Excise in 1912 and was seconded to the department of the government chemist in 1914. Meanwhile he studied part-time at West Ham Technical Institute and in 1915 graduated with a first class Bachelor of Science
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
in chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
at the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
. He gained the diploma of pharmaceutical chemist in 1916, took a Master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in 1918 with a thesis on tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
. He was elected to be a Fellow of the Royal Institute of Chemistry
Royal Institute of Chemistry
The Royal Institute of Chemistry was a British scientific organisation.Founded in 1877 as the Institute of Chemistry of Great Britain, its role was to focus on qualifications and the professional status of chemists, and its aim was to ensure that consulting and analytical chemists were properly...
in 1920.
Career
In 1919, Jephcott was recruited by Alec Nathan to the family business, Joseph Nathan & Co., which sold dried milk powder imported from New ZealandNew Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, under the trade name of Glaxo. Jephcott worked on quality control
Quality control
Quality control, or QC for short, is a process by which entities review the quality of all factors involved in production. This approach places an emphasis on three aspects:...
. In 1923 visited the USA to meet other scientists. He obtained a licence to fortify Glaxo powder with antirachitic vitamin D
Vitamin D
Vitamin D is a group of fat-soluble secosteroids. In humans, vitamin D is unique both because it functions as a prohormone and because the body can synthesize it when sun exposure is adequate ....
, using Theodore Zucker's process for the extraction of the vitamin from fish-liver oil
Fish-liver oil
Fish-liver oil may refer to:* Cod liver oil, an oil extracted from cod livers.* Shark liver oil...
. In 1924, he instigated Glaxo to start production of its first pharmaceutical product, Ostelin. This was the earliest commercially-made vitamin concentrate in Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
.
Jephcott was cognitive of new scientific ideas, had an interest in pharmaceutical sales, and was a good business strategist who understood company administration as well. His understanding of patent law with respect to pharmaceuticals led him to study for the bar and to be called to the Middle Temple
Middle Temple
The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers; the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn and Lincoln's Inn...
in 1925. He was promoted to be general manager
General manager
General manager is a descriptive term for certain executives in a business operation. It is also a formal title held by some business executives, most commonly in the hospitality industry.-Generic usage:...
of the Glaxo department in 1925, a director of Joseph Nathan in 1929, managing director of the newly formed Glaxo Laboratories (GL) in 1935, and of the parent company
Parent company
A parent company is a company that owns enough voting stock in another firm to control management and operations by influencing or electing its board of directors; the second company being deemed as a subsidiary of the parent company...
in 1939.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Jephcott was adviser on manufactured foods to the Ministry of Food (1941–43) and chairman of the Therapeutic Research Corporation in 1943. He visited the USA on behalf of the Ministry of Supply
Ministry of Supply
The Ministry of Supply was a department of the UK Government formed in 1939 to co-ordinate the supply of equipment to all three British armed forces, headed by the Minister of Supply. There was, however, a separate ministry responsible for aircraft production and the Admiralty retained...
in 1944 to report on penicillin
Penicillin
Penicillin is a group of antibiotics derived from Penicillium fungi. They include penicillin G, procaine penicillin, benzathine penicillin, and penicillin V....
production, which helped enable Glaxo Laboratories to build factories for penicillin production by deep fermentation under licence from two American companies, Merck & Co.
Merck & Co.
Merck & Co., Inc. , also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme or MSD outside the United States and Canada, is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. The Merck headquarters is located in Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, an unincorporated area in Readington Township...
and Squibb. This established his company as a major force in the British pharmaceutical industry. By 1995, it became the largest pharmaceutical group in the world.
Harry Jephcott organised the public flotation of Glaxo Laboratories in 1947. He retired as managing director in 1956. However, as non-executive chairman was largely responsible when his company took control of other pharmaceutical businesses, for example Allen & Hanburys
Allen & Hanburys
Allen and Hanburys Ltd was a British pharmaceutical manufacturer, absorbed by Glaxo Laboratories in 1958.-History:The business was founded in 1715 in Old Plough Court, Lombard Street, London, by Silvanus Bevan, a Welshman, apothecary and a Quaker...
in 1958. From 1963, he was appointed honorary life president.
Positions and honours
Jephcott was a member of the UK government's Advisory Council on Scientific Policy (1953–56) and Chairman of the Council for Scientific and Industrial ResearchCouncil for Scientific and Industrial Research
The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research is South Africa's central and premier scientific research and development organisation. It was established by an act of parliament in 1945 and is situated on its own campus in the city of Pretoria...
(1956–61). He was a director of the Metal Box Company (1950–64). He was Chairman and then President of the Association of British Chemical Manufacturers (1947–55), President of the Royal Institute of Chemistry
Royal Institute of Chemistry
The Royal Institute of Chemistry was a British scientific organisation.Founded in 1877 as the Institute of Chemistry of Great Britain, its role was to focus on qualifications and the professional status of chemists, and its aim was to ensure that consulting and analytical chemists were properly...
(1953–55), and a governor of the London School of Economics
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
(1952–68).
Jephcott was knighted in 1946 and created a Baronet
Baronet
A baronet or the rare female equivalent, a baronetess , is the holder of a hereditary baronetcy awarded by the British Crown...
in 1962.
Personal life
Harry Jephcott was born at TardebiggeTardebigge
Tardebigge is a village in Worcestershire, England.The village is most famous for the Tardebigge Locks, a flight of 36 canal locks that raise the Worcester and Birmingham Canal over 220 feet over the Lickey Ridge. It lies in the historic county of Worcestershire.-Toponymy:The etymology of the...
, near Redditch
Redditch
Redditch is a town and local government district in north-east Worcestershire, England, approximately south of Birmingham. The district had a population of 79,216 in 2005. In the 19th century it became the international centre for the needle and fishing tackle industry...
, Worcestershire
Worcestershire
Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
He was the youngest of five children (three of them sons). His father was John Josiah Jephcott (1853–1929), train driver and former miner. His mother was Helen (1849–1930), daughter of Charles Matthews.
Jephcott married his wife Doris (1893–1985), daughter of Henry Gregory, a builder, on 19 April 1919. She was a pharmaceutical chemist before her marriage. They had two sons.
Jephcott lived from 1928 until his death in Pinner
Pinner
- Climate :Pinner's geographical position on the far western side of North West London makes it the furthest London suburb from any UK coastline. Hence the lower prevalence of moderating maritime influences make Pinner noticeably warmer in the spring and the summer compared to the rest of the capital...
, Middlesex
Middlesex
Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...
. He also bought farms at East Portlemouth
East Portlemouth
East Portlemouth is a small Devon village situated at the southern end of the Kingsbridge Estuary. The village is sited on a hill giving views to the north to Kingsbridge and on a clear day as far as Dartmoor...
in Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
.
Jephcott founded the Jephcott Charitable Trust in 1965.
This provides funding for education, health, the natural environment, and population control.
He donated 35 acres (141,640.1 m²) of coastline to the National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
.
Harry Jephcott died of heart failure at Northwick Park Hospital
Northwick Park Hospital
Northwick Park Hospital is a large hospital in the northwest corner of the London Borough of Brent in Greater London, England.-Hospital role:...
, Harrow
Harrow, London
Harrow is an area in the London Borough of Harrow, northwest London, United Kingdom. It is a suburban area and is situated 12.2 miles northwest of Charing Cross...
, west London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.