Friedrich Jacob Merck (18 February 1621—1678) was a German pharmacist and a member of the

Merck family The Merck family is a German family of industrialists and bankers, known for establishing the world's oldest pharmaceutical company Merck, its American former subsidiary Merck & Co. (MSD), which is now an independent company, as well as the H ...

. He was the founder of the world's oldest

pharmaceutical A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy (pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field an ...

company, now known as the

Merck Group The Merck Group, branded and commonly known as Merck, is a German multinational science and technology company headquartered in Darmstadt, with about 60,000 employees and present in 66 countries. The group includes around 250 companies; the ma ...

, which was established in 1668.Merck KGaA (Editor): ''„Was der Mensch thun kann...“ – Ein Streifzug durch die Geschichte des pharmazeutisch-chemischen Unternehmens Merck.'' September 2003 Friedrich Jacob Merck was the son of Johann Merck (1573–1642), an innkeeper from

Schweinfurt Schweinfurt ( , ; ) is a city in the district of Lower Franconia in Bavaria, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the surrounding district (''Landkreis'') of Schweinfurt and a major industrial, cultural and educational hub. The urban ag ...

who ran the ''Zum Schwarzen Bären'' inn and who was a member of the city council. He did an apprenticeship in the Ratsapotheke in his hometown. He first owned a pharmacy in

Wesselburen Wesselburen () is a small town in the district of Dithmarschen in the German Federal State of Schleswig-Holstein. It is situated near the North Sea coast, approximately west of Heide. Wesselburen is part of the ''Amt'' ("collective municipality ...

, before moving to Darmstadt. In 1668 he acquired the second city pharmacy there, the ''Engel-Apotheke'', which became the start of the Merck company. Friedrich Jacob Merck died in 1678 without any descendants. He had chosen his nephew Georg Friedrich Merck as his successor.F. Ebner and L. Lerch: ''Von der Merckschen Engel-Apotheke zum pharmazeutisch-chemischen Großbetrieb''. E. Merck AG, 1968

References

External links

Merck website
Merck Group people 1621 births 1678 deaths German pharmacists Scientists from Darmstadt People from Schweinfurt Date of death missing Place of birth missing Place of death missing Pharmaceutical company founders {{Germany-med-bio-stub

See also

References

External links