Kilmer House

Two posts ago, I wrote about how the very first seeds of our disaster relief program can be traced back to 1898. My last post talked about how this philosophy -- of providing products when a need arose -- led Johnson & Johnson to donate products and aid to help the survivors of the deadly Galveston hurricane in 1900. In 1906, another natural disaster struck, and Johnson & Johnson responded again. This response marked the official start of the Company’s disaster relief program…one of the oldest corporate disaster relief programs in existence. Panoramic photo showing Johnson & Johns

It’s hard to believe that December is here!  In celebration of the 12th month of the year and the colder weather it brings, here are 12 cool things from Johnson & Johnson history. 1.  Ken Burns’ latest documentary, Laurel Club to attend a national meeting of women employee clubs.  They attended a special reception with President Theodore Roosevelt at the White House.  Johnson & Johnson’s first female scientist, Edith von K---, was among the Johnson & Johnson delegates, as was Elizabeth P----, who was depicted in one of the Company’s stained glass windows.   Personal letter from P

There’s a saying that the best place to hide something is in plain sight.  Anyone who has frantically tried to find his or her keys certainly can attest to that being the case.  But did you know that it’s also true for Johnson & Johnson history?  Here are some surprising people and things from Johnson & Johnson history that have been hiding in plain sight. Drawing of the first Johnson & Johnson building, 1886. From our archives.  Wouldn't it be great to have a photograph too? Well, as it turns out, we have more photos than we thought... 1.  The first Johnson & Johnson building:

One of the most frequent questions generated by a recent post (10 Things You Didn’t Know About J&J) is “Did Johnson & Johnson REALLY have a swimming pool for employees?”  And the answer is:  yes, we did, in the Nineteen-teens.  (No, we don’t still have the pool.  That’s the next most frequently asked question.) Here’s a picture of the pool: Swimming Pool for Employees in the Cotton Mill, 1913. It was located in the Cotton Mill, and had separate hours for male and female employees.  (This was the Nineteen-teens, you know.)  In addition, there were sho

I recently spoke with a reader of this blog whose father worked as a salesman for Johnson & Johnson in the early 1920s. He told me that his father was one of the first people to demonstrate a new invention to doctors…the BAND-AID® Brand Adhesive Bandage. First BAND-AID® Brand Adhesive Bandage Package, 1921 Today we take BAND-AID® Brand Adhesive Bandages for granted, but before the invention of the product in 1920 by Earle Dickson, a young Company employee, there were no ready made adhesive bandages. People needing a small bandage had to make one themselves, and they were often too cumbers