Edward Mallinckrodt, Jr.
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Edward Mallinckrodt, Jr., born in St. Louis on November 17, 1878, graduated cum laude with an A.B. in chemistry from Harvard College in 1900. He received an A.M. from Harvard University in 1901. Mallinckrodt wrote his master's thesis on "Dietary Studies with Harvard Students." In l948, Washington University in St. Louis awarded Edward Mallinckrodt, Jr. an honorary doctorate of laws.
After the completion of his master's degree, Mallinckrodt, Jr. returned to St. Louis to join the family business, the Mallinckrodt Chemical Works. In 1911, he married Elizabeth Baker Elliot (1884-1973). They had three sons, Edward III (1912-1932), Henry Elliot (1914-1945), and George Elliot (1920-1968).
In 1867, Edward Mallinckrodt, Sr. (1845-1928) and his two brothers, Otto and Gustave, founded the Mallinckrodt Chemical Works. The firm became the first to manufacture fine chemicals west of the Mississippi. Original products produced by Mallinckrodt Chemical Works included bromides, iodides, chloroform and spirits of nitrous of ether. Gustave Mallinckrodt died in 1877. Otto Mallinckrodt died in 1878.
Edward Mallinckrodt, Sr. incorporated Mallinckrodt Chemical Works in 1882, the same year it began production of photograph chemicals. By 1889, the company had expanded into offices in New York and New Jersey. In 1889 Edward Mallinckrodt, Sr. joined with four other producers of liquid ammonia to form a separate company, the National Ammonia Company. He served as President of the new company until the DuPont Company bought it in 1928.
Edward Mallinckrodt, Sr. remained chairman of the board of Mallinckrodt Chemical Works, and directed its operation until his death in 1928. However, Mallinckrodt, Jr. also took an active role in the company. He served as director (1901-1965) and as Vice-President and Assistant Treasurer from 1918-1928. Under the guidance of father and son, Mallinckrodt Chemical Works opened branches in Philadelphia (1904) and in Canada (1913). It also developed barium sulfate for x-ray diagnosis, morphine and codeine. In 1922, the company began to sell analytical reagent chemicals which it had earlier developed for its own use. From 1901-1928, Edward Mallinckrodt, Jr. conducted research on the purification, preservation, and packaging of anesthetic ether. He continued this research through 1960, by then he had sixteen patents, and had written several scientific papers on ether.
Edward Mallinckrodt, Jr. succeeded his father as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of the company in 1928. He retained the positions through 1965. During his tenure, sales for Mallinckrodt Chemical Works grew from $9 million to $47 million. Edward Mallinckrodt, Jr. also presided over the firm's expansion into other areas of manufacturing including the production and sales of pharmaceuticals and production of purified uranium for atomic energy. In 1942, at the urging of Dr. Arthur Holly Compton, a Nobel Laureate in Physics, Mallinckrodt, Jr. agreed to produce the enriched uranium used in the first self-sustaining nuclear reaction at the University of Chicago. Mallinckrodt operated a uranium plant for the Atomic Energy Commission at Weldon Springs, Missouri beginning in 1955.
Edward Mallinckrodt, Jr. also gained renown as a philanthropist, humanitarian, and conservationist. He served on Washington University's Board of Trustees from 1928-1942. In his father's name, he endowed a Department of Pediatrics, a Department of Pharmacology, the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology (1928), and a Professorship of Pathology. In 1947, Mallinckrodt, Jr. also established at Washington University, a Professorship of Anesthesiology in memory of his son Henry Elliot Mallinckrodt.
At Harvard University, Mallinckrodt, Jr. continued a tradition of financial support begun by his father in the 1920s. A $500,000 gift from Mallinckrodt, Sr. initiated the building of a chemistry laboratory called the Edward Mallinckrodt Memorial Laboratory. Edward Mallinckrodt, Jr. also established the Edward Mallinckrodt III chair of anesthesiology in 1936. Harvard Medical School also benefitted from Mallinckrodt endowments, most notably, the financial support given toward 4 at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Later renamed Mallinckrodt Ward 4, the project devoted its resources to the study of diseases that are difficult to diagnose and cure. Mallinckrodt, Jr. also donated funds to build an addition to the Harvard Divinity School and revitalize its programs. As a conservationist, Mallinckrodt, Jr. helped to preserve a natural area in upper New York State and the Dinosaur National Monument in Colorado and Utah. The preservation of Tucker Prairie in Missouri also received funds from Mallinckrodt, Jr. For his work in science, preservation, and education Edward Mallinckrodt received several awards. These included: the 1952 Midwest Award given by the American Chemical Society, St. Louis Section; the Horace Marden Albright Medal for Scenic Preservation by the American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society in 1961; and the 1962 Humanities Award from the St. Louis Globe-Democrat.
Edward Mallinckrodt's social affiliations reflect his interest in astronomy, geology, ballistics, and conservation. Some of these affiliations include: charter membership in American Chemical Society; the Society of Chemical Industries; the Adirondack League Club; the American Alpine Club; the Sierra Club; the Harvard Club in New York; and the Boone and Crockett Club.
In December 1965, Mallinckrodt, Jr. resigned as Chairman of the Board of Mallinckrodt Chemical Works. He served as Honorary Chairman until his death on January 19, 1967.
