William Horlick, Sr. (23 February 1846 – 25 September 1936) was an English-born food manufacturer and the original patent holder of

malted milk Malted milk or malt powder is a powdered gruel made from a mixture of malted barley, wheat flour, and evaporated whole milk powder. The powder is used to add its distinctive flavor to beverages and other foods, but it is also used in baking ...

. He emigrated to the United States in 1869, settling in

Racine Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ) (; 22 December 163921 April 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille as well as an important literary figure in the Western traditio ...

, Wisconsin. There he started a food company with his brother,

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

. Horlick was a well-known philanthropist in the Racine area. He was also a major sponsor of the

Racine Legion The Racine Legion was a professional American football team based in Racine, Wisconsin, of the National Football League from 1922 to 1924. Its official name was the Horlick-Racine Legion. The team then operated as the Racine Tornadoes in 1926. ...

, which played in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

from 1922 until 1924. He died 25 September 1936 at the age of ninety.

Biography

Early life and family

He was born in

Ruardean Ruardean is a village in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England, to the North West of Cinderford. It is situated on a hillside with views west towards the mountains of South Wales. Little now remains of the village's industrial history, but ...

, in the

Forest of Dean The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the county of Gloucestershire, England. It forms a roughly triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and northwest, Herefordshire to the n ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

, England, the youngest surviving child of James Horlick (1809–1878), a saddler, and his wife Priscilla Griffiths (1817–1874). He was sent to school in

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

with his brothers Peter (1842–1901) and James (1844–1921), before becoming apprenticed to a local saddler. At the same time, his brother James began working for the Mellin Food Company in London, which produced a powdered baby food from

malt Malt is germinated cereal grain that has been dried in a process known as " malting". The grain is made to germinate by soaking in water and is then halted from germinating further by drying with hot air. Malted grain is used to make beer, wh ...

and

bran Bran, also known as miller's bran, is the hard outer layers of Cereal, cereal grain. It consists of the combined aleurone and pericarp. Corn (maize) bran also includes the pedicel (tip cap). Along with cereal germ, germ, it is an integral pa ...

. When at home in Ruardean, James, William and their father began experimenting with ways of making a granulated powder based on

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

and malted

barley Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley pr ...

which could be stored for long periods in sealed containers.Andrew Gardiner, ''The development of Horlick Malted Milk and Infant Food'', The New Regard (Journal of the Forest of Dean Local History Society), no.27, 2013, pp.39-45

Malted milk

After immigrating to the US in 1869, Horlick settled in

. In 1872, he moved to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

to begin a food manufacturing business with his brother, James. This was the genesis of the Horlick Food Company, which the two founded in 1875, and moved to Racine in 1876. At around the same time, William began working on creating a dried milk product. This work culminated with a US patent in 1883 and a product that was originally called "Diastoid," but was later trademarked as "malted milk" in 1887. The company continued to expand, with new branches opening in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in 1889, and in England after James returned there in 1890. James Horlick was knighted in 1914, and raised to the baronetcy of Cowley Manor. New manufacturing plants were opened in Racine in 1902 and 1905. William served as the company's treasurer until his brother's death in 1921, at which time he became company president, holding that position until his death in 1936.

Philanthropy

Horlick was a prominent philanthropist, especially in the Racine area. Gifts in Racine include

Memorial Hall A memorial hall is a hall built to commemorate an individual or group; most commonly those who have died in war. Most are intended for public use and are sometimes described as ''utilitarian memorials''. History of the Memorial Hall In the aft ...

, a maternity wing at St. Luke's Hospital (in memory of his daughter Alice), Island Park, and Horlick Athletic Field, and the land for the high school named in his honour (

William Horlick High School William Horlick High School (also known as Horlick or Racine Horlick High School) is a comprehensive public four-year high school in Racine, Wisconsin with an enrollment of approximately 2,000 students. The school opened to students in 1928, after ...

). Horlick also supported several polar expeditions, including one to the

Antarctic The Antarctic ( or , American English also or ; commonly ) is a polar region around Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica, the Kerguelen Plateau and other ...

by Richard Byrd and another to the

North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distinguish from the Mag ...

Roald Amundsen Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen (, ; ; 16 July 1872 – ) was a Norwegian explorer of polar regions. He was a key figure of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. Born in Borge, Østfold, Norway, Amundsen bega ...

. Horlick not only supported the expeditions financially, but his malted milk also provided non-perishable nutrition for the explorers. Because of his contributions, Byrd named the

Horlick Mountains The Horlick Mountains are a mountain range in the Transantarctic Mountains of Antarctica. Some sources indicate that the designation includes the Ohio Range, the Long Hills, and all of the Wisconsin Range, while others suggest that it includes o ...

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

after William Horlick.

Pro Football

In 1919, Horlick sponsored what was then called the "Horlick-Racine Legion". The team was sponsored by him and the American Legion Racine Post no. 76. Horlick paid the debts incurred for operating the Racine Legion. He also gave free use of his

athletic field A pitch or a sports ground is an outdoor playing area for various sports. The term ''pitch'' is most commonly used in British English, while the comparable term in American and Canadian English is playing field or sports field. For most sports t ...

to both the Horlick-Racine Legion and Racine Tornadoes Football teams. He contributed substantial sums of money to convert Horlick Athletic Field to accommodate professional football and expended over $100,000 to cover the expenses of three 1920s seasons.http://racinelegion.com/custom2_2.html

Personal life

He married his second cousin Arabella Horlick (1850–1938) in 1870, while in the US. They had two children, William Jr. and Mabelle.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Horlick, William 1846 births 1936 deaths English emigrants to the United States English philanthropists People from Forest of Dean District National Football League owners Businesspeople from Racine, Wisconsin English inventors 19th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American businesspeople