Frederick Barnett Kilmer (15 December 1851 – 28 December 1934) was an American pharmacist, author, public health activist and the director of Scientific Laboratories for the Johnson & Johnson company from 1889 to 1934.Johnson & Johnson
Our History: People Who Made a Difference
(accessed 13 July 2012).

Early life

Kilmer was born 15 December 1851 to Charles Kilmer and Mary Anne ( Langdon) Kilmer in Chapinville, Connecticut (now Taconic (Salisbury), Litchfield County, Connecticut).''Death Certificate of Frederick Barnett Kilmer'', New Jersey 1934
Retrieved July 13, 2012.''Frederick Barnett Kilmer'' pp3-99 in ''History of Middlesex County, New Jersey 1664- 1920'', Volume 2, Lewis Historical Publishing Company, New York and Chicago 1921.

Personal life and training

Kilmer married Annis Eliza "Annie" Kilburn (1852–1932) on 25 December 1874 at

Sunbury, Pennsylvania Sunbury is a city and county seat of Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in Central Pennsylvania's Susquehanna Valley on the east bank of the Susquehanna River, just downstream of the confluence of its main and west ...

, with whom he had four children, all of whom died young, two in infancy, predeceasing their parents: Anda Frederick "Andy" Kilmer (1873–1899), Ellen Annie Kilmer (1875–1876), Charles Willoughby Kilmer (1880–1880), and writer and poet

Joyce Kilmer Alfred Joyce Kilmer (December 6, 1886 – July 30, 1918) was an American writer and poet mainly remembered for a short poem titled "Trees" (1913), which was published in the collection ''Trees and Other Poems'' in 1914. Though a prolific poet wh ...

(1886–1918). Kilmer attended the public schools of

Birmingham, New Jersey Birmingham is an unincorporated community located within Pemberton Township in Burlington County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the ZIP Code Tabulation Area for ZIP Code 08011 had a population of 33. Thou ...

, before entering the

Wyoming Seminary , motto_translation = Truth, beauty, and goodness , address = 201 North Sprague Avenue , location = , region = , city = Kingston , county = Luzerne , st ...

Kingston, Pennsylvania Kingston is a borough in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located on the western bank of the Susquehanna River opposite the city of Wilkes-Barre. Kingston was first settled in the early 1770s; it was incorporated as a borough in ...

, and subsequently the New York College of Pharmacy. He completed special courses in chemistry at Columbia, Yale and Rutgers Universities, and another under Hoffman. A Master in Pharmacy was conferred on him by the

Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since 1 ...

in 1920.

Professional career

Kilmer cultivated and studied plants for medicinal properties, especially ginger,

kola KOLA (99.9 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Redlands, California, and broadcasting to the Riverside-San Bernardino-Inland Empire radio market. It is owned by the Anaheim Broadcasting Corporation and it airs a classic hits radio for ...

, papaw and belladonna, and implemented solutions to problems in water and milk supplies. Kilmer was a: * Member of the

Society of Chemical Industry The Society of Chemical Industry (SCI) is a learned society set up in 1881 "to further the application of chemistry and related sciences for the public benefit". Offices The society's headquarters is in Belgrave Square, London. There are semi-in ...

, Royal Society of Arts, North British Academy of Arts, New Brunswick Historical Society, New Brunswick Scientific Society,

American Chemical Society The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 155,000 members at all ...

, American Institute of Chemical Engineers and American Public Health Association. * Vice-president of the American Drug Manufacturer's Association, American Pharmaceutical Association, Society of Economic Biologists of England, Institute Arzenmittelhere of Braunschweig, Societe Quimica Agricola of Buenos Ayers and

Institute of Jamaica The Institute of Jamaica (IOJ), founded in 1879, is the country's most significant cultural, artistic and scientific organisation:New Brunswick Board of Health. * Advisor to the New Jersey State Board of Health. Kilmer supported the Republican Party, and belonged to two clubs, the Chemists of New York City and the Union of New Brunswick. He was also a vestryman for the Christ Episcopal Church and member of the standing committee of the Diocese of New Jersey. He had previously studied at the Wyoming Seminary at Kingston, Pennsylvania. Kilmer practiced his pharmacology in

Binghamton Binghamton () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, and serves as the county seat of Broome County. Surrounded by rolling hills, it lies in the state's Southern Tier region near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the conflue ...

, New York, Plymouth,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

and Morristown,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

; before moving to

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

where he managed his own pharmacy. Kilmer was a foundation employee of the pharmaceutical company

Johnson and Johnson Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is an American multinational corporation founded in 1886 that develops medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and consumer packaged goods. Its common stock is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the company i ...

in 1886, and was an early advocate of the

First Aid First aid is the first and immediate assistance given to any person with either a minor or serious illness or injury, with care provided to preserve life, prevent the condition from worsening, or to promote recovery. It includes initial in ...

movement.

Publications

Kilmer published a booklet, ''Methods of Antiseptic Wound Treatment'' in 1888, popularizing the knowledge of antiseptic methods for treating wounds with an appendix of appropriate company products, and co-wrote the "Standard First Aid Manual" in 1901 also for the company.

Directorship

Kilmer severed his connection with his pharmacy in 1889 on becoming director of the Scientific Laboratories of Johnson & Johnson until his death in 1934. Kilmer was subsequently responsible for Johnson & Johnson's Baby Powder. In those early days, the company made medicated plasters which could irritate when removed. He suggested sending customers a small container of Italian talc to soothe their skin. Satisfied customers soon discovered the powder also soothed their babies' bottoms, and in 1893 the company sold the first tins of the famous baby powder.

Death

Kilmer family plot, Elmwood Cemetery, NJ

Kilmer died 28 December 1934, aged 83, in New Brunswick, New Jersey. He was buried three days later in Elmwood Cemetery, North Brunswick, New Jersey.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kilmer, Frederick Barnett 1851 births 1934 deaths Johnson & Johnson people New Jersey Republicans American health activists Burials at Elmwood Cemetery (North Brunswick, New Jersey) People from New Brunswick, New Jersey People from Litchfield County, Connecticut Pharmacists from New Jersey