Eli Lilly (April 1, 1885 – January 24, 1977), sometimes referred to as Eli Lilly Jr. to distinguish him from his grandfather of the same name, was an American pharmaceutical industrialist and philanthropist from Indianapolis, Indiana. During his tenure as head of Eli Lilly and Company, which was founded by his grandfather, the company grew from a successful, family-owned business into a modern corporation and industry leader. Lilly served as the company president (1932–1948), chairman of the board of directors (1948–1961 and 1966–1969), and honorary chairman of the board (1961–1966 and 1969–1977).
Throughout his life, Lilly took a personal interest in the history of Indiana and his hometown of Indianapolis. A man of significant personal wealth, whose philanthropic contributions were often given anonymously, Lilly was also modest, quiet, and unassuming. He made substantial gifts and actively supported the work of individuals and groups who shared his passions for archaeology, state and local history, art, religion, education, and civic improvement.
In addition to his personal philanthropy, Lilly, with his father, Josiah K. Lilly Sr., and brother, Josiah K. Lilly Jr., established the Lilly Endowment, a philanthropic foundation that continues to operate. Lilly also wrote, edited, and contributed to published works related to the prehistory of Indiana, Christ Church Cathedral in Indianapolis, the Lenape's chronicle Walum Olum, Indiana's Lake Wawasee, and archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann. A politically conservative Republican and a lifelong member of the Episcopal church, Lilly's traditional values concerning family, home, and community service guided his work in the pharmaceutical industry and in civic life.
Early life and education Lilly was born on April 1, 1885, in Indianapolis, the eldest son of Josiah K. Lilly Sr. and Lilly Maria Ridgely Lilly. He was named for his grandfather, Colonel Eli Lilly, who founded Eli Lilly and Company, the family's pharmaceutical business in Indianapolis. Lilly grew up in Indianapolis at 476 North Tennessee Street (renamed Capitol in 1885), eight blocks north of the Indiana Statehouse. The family moved to a larger home on North Pennsylvania Street in Indianapolis.Madison, Eli Lilly, p. 7 and 15. The family attended Christ Church, an Episcopal church located on Monument Circle in the city's center, and spent the summer months at their cottage on Lake Wawasee in Kosciusko County, Indiana.Madison, Eli Lilly, p. 7. At the lake, Lilly enjoyed hiking, fishing, swimming, and sailing.Madison, Eli Lilly, p. 12–13.
After attending a public elementary school in Indianapolis and one term at Culver Military Academy in northern Indiana, Lilly graduated from Shortridge High School in Indianapolis.Madison, Eli Lilly, p. 17. He went on to study at his father's alma mater, the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science, where his doctoral thesis was on cannabis.Indianapolis Monthly, March, 2019 He graduated in 1907 with a degree as a pharmaceutical chemist and returned to Indianapolis to begin his career in the family business.Madison, Eli Lilly, p. 21–22.
Career According to his biographer, James H. Madison, "Lilly was modest, unassuming, and quiet, yet under his placid exterior was an inquiring mind and abundant physical energy" and a man who "believed in hard work, all his life."Madison, Eli Lilly, p. 238. As a boy, Lilly worked at Eli Lilly and Company during school vacations at the family's pharmaceutical plant on McCarty Street in Indianapolis, where he washed bottles and did other tasks. He never thought of working anywhere else.Madison, Eli Lilly, p. 21.
After graduating from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science in Philadelphia, in 1907, Lilly returned to Indianapolis to join his family's firm, Eli Lilly and Company. He first served as head and the only employee of the company's newly created Economic Department, where his job was to explore cost effective and more efficient ways to operate the business.Madison, Eli Lilly, pp. 20, 28. In addition to studying the company's manufacturing processes, Lilly loved mechanical gadgets and introduced new manufacturing equipment to increase production, reduce waste, and improve quality.Madison, Eli Lilly, p. 28. In 1909, Lilly was promoted to superintendent of the manufacturing division. Within two years, he brought new principles of scientific management to the company to improve efficiency and reward workers for meeting and exceeding production requirements.Madison, Eli Lilly, p. 30. As the business expanded and modernized in the years preceding World War I, Lilly and his brother, Josiah K. Lilly Jr., continued to work in managerial positions, while their father remained as head of the growing company.Madison, Eli Lilly, pp. 38–39.
In the 1920s and 1930s, Eli Lilly and Company experienced significant growth and financial success as it expanded research and product development efforts.Madison, Eli Lilly, pp. 45–46. Lilly was actively involved in major projects that brought the Indianapolis company to the forefront as a top research-based pharmaceutical manufacturer. Insulin, which the company produced and sold under the trade name of Iletin, was the result of a pioneering collaboration with University of Toronto research scientists.Madison, Eli Lilly, pp. 56–58. In May 1922, Lilly and the company's director of biochemical research, George Henry Alexander Clowes, met in Toronto with John Macleod, Frederick Banting, and Charles Best, the scientists who had discovered insulin as an effective treatment for diabetes. The meeting resulted in an agreement between the university and the Indianapolis manufacturer to mass-produce and distribute the drug. Iletin became the most important drug in the company's history and Banting and Macleod earned the Nobel Prize in 1923 for their groundbreaking work.Madison, Eli Lilly, pp. 55–57, 62.
Lilly's other significant achievements included contributions to improved production and research. He devoted hours to developing a straight-line production system for the company's new Building 22, which was completed in 1926 and improved the company's manufacturing processes.Madison, Eli Lilly, pp. 46, 63. As research expanded and the company introduced new products, including the sedative Amytal, the antiseptic Merthiolate, and other drugs such as ephedrine, Lilly strengthened ties with university scientists by establishing research fellowships at American and European universities.Madison, Eli Lilly, pp. 63–64. Another successful collaboration, this one with researchers at Harvard University and the University of Rochester for drugs to treat anemia, built on the lessons learned from the insulin project and earned the university scientists, George R. Minot, William P. Murphy, and George Whipple, the Nobel Prize for medicine in 1934.Madison, Eli Lilly, pp. 66–67.
Lilly became president of Eli Lilly and Company on January 26, 1932, and remained at its head until 1948.Madison, Eli Lilly, p. 91. Lilly showed great management skill and concern for the welfare of his employees. During his tenure as president, the company grew to include 6,912 employees and had sales of $115 million in 1948.Madison, Eli Lilly, pp. 92–93. While the company expanded operations in Indianapolis and overseas, it established a reputation as a good place to work by providing employee assistance, sound wages, maintaining a positive outlook, and desegregating its workforce.Madison, Eli Lilly, pp. 96, 101, 120. As increased governmental regulations challenged the industry, the U.S. Justice Department investigated Eli Lilly and Company and two other pharmaceutical firms for violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act, charging them with fixing insulin prices. Legal counsel advised Lilly to avoid the high costs and negative publicity from an extended lawsuit by pleading nolo contendere, which he did, so the company could move forward.Madison, Eli Lilly, p. 103.
Under Lilly's leadership during World War II, the company supported the war effort by producing blood plasma in conjunction with the American Red Cross. It also manufactured encephalitis vaccine, antitoxin for gas poisoning, and vaccines for influenza, typhus, insulin, Merthiolate, and other drugs.Madison, Eli Lilly, pp. 105–07. Lilly was especially proud of the company's collaboration with the U.S. government and others on large-scale production of penicillin.Madison, Eli Lilly, p. 108. In the renovated Curtiss-Wright complex on Kentucky Avenue in Indianapolis, Lilly employees were producing more than 250,000 ampules of penicillin per day by the late 1940s.
In the postwar years, Lilly remained active in company business as it expanded overseas with the construction of a new plant in Basingstoke, England, and supporting research on new drugs.Madison, Eli Lilly, p. 111. He also reorganized the company, appointing non-family members to top management positions and began the transition to non-family management of the company. Lilly was president of the company from 1932 to 1947. Following the death of his father in 1948, Lilly served as chairman of the board from 1948 to 1961, while his brother, J. K. Lilly Jr., was the company's president, and from 1966 to 1969, when Eugene N. Beesley was elected president. Lilly was honorary chairman from 1961 to 1966 and from 1969 to 1977.
Personal interests and philanthropy Lilly was modest, a man of simple tastes and traditional values. In politics, Lilly was a conservative Republican; however, he was a friend and supporter of Indiana governor Roger D. Branigin, a Democrat, who shared some of Lilly's personal interests.Madison, Eli Lilly, p. 256–57. Lilly was especially interested in history and archaeology and enjoyed reading, writing, music, and art. His wealth allowed him to pursue a wide range of philanthropic interests and hobbies, many of which related to Indiana history.Madison, Eli Lilly, p. 88–90.
Lilly was also known for his philanthropic activities and as founder of the Indianapolis-based Lilly Endowment Inc. along with his father J. K. Lilly Sr. and his brother J. K. Lilly Jr. In 1937 Lilly with his father and his brother, established the endowment with initial gifts of 17,500 shares of their personal stock in Eli Lilly and Company, valued at $280,000, and made additional financial gifts through 1971. In total, their combined gifts were 32 million shares of pharmaceutical stock, valued at $94 million, with several non-family members contributing additional shares of stock worth an estimated $1.1 million. Lilly served as the Lilly Endowment's secretary/treasurer from 1937 to 1966, as its president from 1966 to 1972, as chairman 1972 to 1975, and as honorary chairman from 1975 to 1977.Lilly Endowment, Inc. '87, p. 41–42. As of December 31, 2011, the Lilly Endowment "held $6.2 billion in unrestricted assets" and "approved $208.7 million in new grants" to support "community development, education and religion".
For Lilly, philanthropy was "personal, thoughtful, and ambitious."Madison, Eli Lilly, p. 222. He favored areas that interested him personally and took an active leadership role in a number of organizations that he supported financially, but "his was never a selfish, self-centered philanthropy". Lilly's donations were often anonymous. Lilly chose projects related to archaeology, history, historic preservation, education, and religion, especially when they were connected to Indiana and Indianapolis.
Archaeology