Welcome to Kilmer House! Why start a blog about Company history, anyway? Well, one of the best ways to understand Johnson & Johnson is to know the Company’s history and the things that make it unique. One of those things is the fact that Johnson & Johnson is over a hundred years old. How many big companies can you think of that started in the 1800s and are still going strong today? And why Kilmer House? What does that have to do with Johnson & Johnson, anyway? (Well, I’ll tell you…) Dr. Frederick Barnett Kilmer (1851– 1934) was the Company’s first scientific director, starting in 1899. Originally a pharmacist by trade, Dr. Kilmer was not only a scientist: he was a big believer in preserving the Company’s history and having an ongoing dialogue with the community, which included surgeons, doctors, consumers, patients and pharmacists. Most of the historical artifacts you see on this site were preserved by Dr. Kilmer, who started a museum and archive of everything he could save pertaining to Johnson & Johnson while he was here. Dr. Kilmer’s ongoing dialogue with the community resulted in a collaboration with American physicians about the importance of aseptic surgery and wound care, the first First-Aid Manual, and even JOHNSON’S® Baby Powder. So in the spirit and tradition of Dr. Kilmer, this blog is an attempt to start another conversation…and share some of the Company’s history. (And yes, Kilmer House was also the name of one of the old Johnson & Johnson buildings…named after Dr. Kilmer, of course.)
About the blog author: Margaret Gurowitz is a member of the Corporate Communications department at Johnson & Johnson. She majored in history in college, and is privileged to have worked extensively with the Company’s history and historical archives. In addition to her regular communications duties, Margaret is an unofficial Company historian and is living proof that, yes, you CAN do something with a history degree! She is always looking to discover new stories about the Company’s early days and people….so if you or someone in your family has a story, please send it in!
