Near Almond in Waushara County, Wisconsin — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Sir Henry Soloman Wellcome
(1853 – 1936)
Sir Henry Soloman Wellcome, key figure in the development of pharmaceutics and the promotion of medical research, was born to Yankee settlers on a hardscrabble farm in the vicinity of Almond, Wisconsin, where he spent the first eight years of his life. Wellcome moved to Minnesota with his family in 1861 and was later educated in pharmacy schools in Chicago and Philadelphia. In 1880 he went to London, England, where he and Silas Mainville Burroughs formed a business partnership creating Burroughs Wellcome & Company to manufacture and market a new, compressed form of American medicine: pills. Sir Henry later established the Wellcome Chemical and Physiological laboratories, among the first medical research institutes in the pharmaceutical industry. Eventually, Wellcome researchers helped discover new treatments for diseases such as diphtheria, yellow fever, malaria, leprosy, and sleeping sickness. Wellcome’s collection of rare medical manuscripts form the basis for the Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine in London. A naturalized British citizen, Sir Henry was knighted in 1932. The Wellcome Trust, established in England after Sir Henry’s death in 1936, is recognized as one of the world’s great benefactors of medical research and the Burroughs Wellcome Fund in the United States has supported medical research since 1955.
Erected 1996 by the Wisconsin Historical Society. (Marker Number 336.)
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Agriculture • Industry & Commerce • Science & Medicine. In addition, it is included in the Wisconsin Historical Society series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1861.
Location. 44° 14.538′ N, 89° 24.394′ W. Marker is near Almond, Wisconsin, in Waushara County. Marker is on County Highway J, 0.1 miles south of Akron Avenue, on the left when traveling south. Marker is 0.1 mile south of Portage County. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Almond WI 54909, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 13 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Almond Veterans Memorial (approx. 1.4 miles away); Whistler Mound Group and Enclosure (approx. 9.2 miles away); Windfeldt Estate (approx. 10.7 miles away); Sacred to the Memory of the Soldiers (approx. 11 miles away); Old Coach Road (approx. 11 miles away); Hellestad House (approx. 11.1 miles away); Waushara County Veterans Memorial (approx. 12.8 miles away); Pioneer Wautoma (approx. 12.8 miles away).
Credits. This page was last revised on July 18, 2021. It was originally submitted on October 25, 2007, by Keith L of Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. This page has been viewed 1,682 times since then and 55 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on October 25, 2007, by Keith L of Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. 4. submitted on July 17, 2021, by Jim Schaettle of Madison, Wisconsin. • J. J. Prats was the editor who published this page.