Category Archives: Beginnings

Johnson & Johnson opened its first international operating company in Canada in 1919, followed by one in the United Kingdom in 1924.  Our decentralized global expansion continued, and today the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies is made up of … Continue reading →

Sometimes a chance conversation can lead to unexpected things.  In Johnson & Johnson history, conversations have led to some very well-known products from our Family of Companies.  A conversation in the late 1800s between one of our founders and someone … Continue reading →

Alert Kilmer House readers will have noticed that their favorite blog about Johnson & Johnson history suddenly looks a little different.  The new look of Kilmer House incorporates elements that made some of the early Johnson & Johnson publications so … Continue reading →

Like every new company just starting out, Johnson & Johnson advertised, and the earliest Johnson & Johnson ad in our archives happens to be from 1886 – the year we started.  The 1886 ad is for our first consumer product, … Continue reading →

By the time Fred Kilmer wrote back to Sir Joseph Lister in 1891, he was able to describe in great detail the Company’s sterilization and manufacturing procedures – including our Aseptic Room, the steam sterilizers and the water filtration system.  … Continue reading →

When Johnson & Johnson founders Robert Wood Johnson, James Wood Johnson and Edward Mead Johnson were born in the mid-1800s, one of the most basic developments in science and medicine that we take for granted today — an understanding of … Continue reading →

In 1889, one of the most remarkable employees in the history of Johnson & Johnson arrived at our growing array of buildings as our new director of scientific affairs.  Just as the arrival of Robert Wood Johnson had created a whirlwind … Continue reading →

It’s the winter of 1886, and Company founders James Wood Johnson and Edward Mead Johnson have solved the issue of where to put their new company, thanks to James’s very lucky train journey.  New Brunswick, New Jersey turned out to … Continue reading →

This month marks the start of a very important year for Johnson & Johnson:  our 125th birthday year!  To celebrate the milestone of a century and a quarter, this blog post will join Company founder James Wood Johnson on a … Continue reading →

Alert Kilmer House readers may have noticed that there are a number of photographs of Johnson & Johnson from the early 1890s on the blog, like this one:   1893 photograph of Johnson & Johnson buildings in New Brunswick, N.J. … Continue reading →