Kilmer House

It is with great sadness that Kilmer House notes the passing of Aldrage B. Cooper, a pioneering African American leader at Johnson & Johnson and in New Brunswick, New Jersey.  Born and raised in New Brunswick, Cooper served as the city’s first African American mayor from 1974 to 1975.  As a Johnson & Johnson leader, he exemplified the company’s Credo values and commitment to the community. Aldrage Cooper joined Johnson & Johnson in 1968 as Director of Public Affairs, and remained with the company until his retirement in 2000 as Vice President of Corporate Affairs.  During his ten

Johnson & Johnson has been a pioneer in so many ways throughout its 130 year history – the first mass produced sterile surgical dressings and sutures, the first commercial first aid kits, BAND-AID® Brand Adhesive Bandages, lifesaving medicines, and so much more.  As a health care company, these pioneering firsts are dedicated to saving and improving lives.  But there is another very surprising area in which Johnson & Johnson was an unsung early pioneer:  cat pictures! In the modern era, it is widely understood that cats rule the internet, with uncountable numbers of cute cat photos, cu

It’s a cold January day in 1886, exactly 130 years ago. James Wood Johnson, one of the founders of Johnson & Johnson, is on a train heading from New York to Philadelphia. Early in 1885,  Johnson and his brothers Robert and Edward had left their former company Seabury & Johnson with the intention of starting a new business, and James was looking for a location. He was on a westbound Pennsylvania Railroad train from New York to Philadelphia. When the train stopped at a tiny station halfway through the journey, Johnson & Johnson found its hometown: the city of New Brunswick, New Jers

An historic key from the days of our founders. A one of a kind First Aid Kit with a one of a kind story. A Hollywood movie star from the 1920s demonstrating one of our heritage consumer products. It has been said that every picture tells a story, and that’s certainly true from the earliest photographs to today’s digital images. In the Johnson & Johnson archives, every object tells a story too. Here are five cool things from the Johnson & Johnson archives – each complete with a cool story that goes with them! Antique skeleton keys are prized by collectors, and here’s an antique key th

Organizations today are constantly searching for new and creative ways to help people to get to know them better. In 1949, General Robert Wood Johnson wrote that “business is people,” and he felt that the best way to get to know Johnson & Johnson was through its values and its people. In 1945, a remarkable employee exemplifying that philosophy joined Johnson & Johnson.  Irrepressible, creative and full of personality, he was hired to supervise employee activities. He managed a variety of initiatives to raise enthusiasm and foster team spirit during his career, and he launched two wild