Thomas James Smith (1827−1896) was the founder of

Smith & Nephew Smith & Nephew plc, also known as Smith+Nephew, is a British multinational medical equipment manufacturing company headquartered in Watford, England. It is an international producer of advanced wound management products, arthroscopy products, ...

, one of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

's largest medical devices businesses.

Career

After training as a pharmacist at a dispensing chemist in

Grantham Grantham () is a market and industrial town in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, situated on the banks of the River Witham and bounded to the west by the A1 road. It lies some 23 miles (37 km) south of the Lincoln and ...

and then at

University College, London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = � ...

, Thomas Smith opened his own chemist's shop in Hull in 1856.The pharmaceutical industry: A guide to Historical Records By Lesley Richmond
Ashgate, 2003, In 1858 he started selling

cod-liver oil Cod liver oil is a dietary supplement derived from liver of cod fish (Gadidae). As with most fish oils, it contains the omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), and also vitamin A and vitamin D. Histori ...

most of which came from Newfoundland although he obtained one large batch at a cheaper price from

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

: he sold these supplies to hospitals on a wholesale basis. In 1896 he was joined by his nephew, Horatio Nelson Smith, who helped build '' T.J. Smith & Nephew'' into a global medical supplies business. Thomas Smith died later in 1896.

Family

Smith, who never married, had no children.

Other interests

He became President of the Hull Chamber of Commerce.Hull Chamber of Commerce
Retrieved 7 June 2009.

References

1827 births 1896 deaths 19th-century British businesspeople {{UK-business-bio-stub