Abbott Laboratories

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Introduction

Alfred Burdick

Name Alfred Stephen Burdick

Gender Male

Birth[1] 15 Feb 1867 DeRuyter, Madison, New York, United States

Marriage to Ella Brown (add)

Death 11 Feb 1933 Chicago, Cook, Illinois, United States

BURIAL

Rosehill Cemetery and Mausoleum

Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, USA

Dr. Alfred S. Burdick, 66, Chicago, died Saturday, Feb. 11, 1933 according to word received here. The funeral was held Wednesday afternoon at Highland Park Presbyterian church.

Dr. Burdick and wife, formerly Ella Brown of Milton, have relatives in Milton and Milton Junction. The doctor was a son of the late Stephen Burdick, who was a Seventh Day Baptist minister at West Hallock, Ill. at one time.

At the time of his death Dr. Burdick was president of the Abbott Laboratories, North Chicago, editor of a medical magazine and was at one time associate professor at the Illinois Medical college.

Picture of Alfred Burdick -- Abbott Laboratories

DR. ALFRED S. BURDICK In 1904, Dr Alfred S. Burdick joined Abbott, and he soon took on many of the administrative duties, ultimately succeeding Abbott as President of the Company. Abbott lived until 1921, long enough for the company to change its name in 1915 to Abbott Laboratories and to break ground for its first suburban office complex. Picture of OldOfficePark -- Abbott Laboratories

AbbottAlkaloidalCo-50-5(OldOfficePark)

Abbott Laboratories, one of the "Big Four" makers of ''ethical" drugs,* began around the turn of the century when Dr. Wallace C. Abbott of Ravenswood started concocting his own alkaloid compounds in his kitchen because he was dissatisfied with those commercially available. In 1904 Dr. Alfred S. Burdick became associated with Dr. Abbott and both soon found all their energies taken up with their burgeoning drug business. Abbott Laboratories now occupy 27 buildings in North Chicago, have total assets of $8,846,000, made $1,415,000 last year of which $1,121,000 was paid out in cash dividends. Sales so far this year total some $8,000,000, about equal to all of last year's. To handle increasing inventories and new expansion without suffering under the undivided profits tax, Abbott stockholders last week authorized issuance of 50,000 shares of $100 preferred stock, of which only 20,000 will be issued immediately.

Abbott believes it is the largest U. S. maker of barbiturates, ephedrine products and arsenicals, also sells Haliver Oil, Metaphen, Chlorazene, Butyn" Estrone, some 1,200 other drugs grouped under such categories as vitamins, burn preparations, antiseptics, local anesthetics, hormones, pollens. Drs. Abbott & Burdick died years ago.

In 1921, Dr Abbott died and Dr Alfred Stephen Burdick is named president of the company. Eight years later Abbott is listed on the Chicago Stock Exchange – the offering was 20,000 shares for $32 each.

"To reflect the company's growing research orientation and move into synthetic compounds, the name was changed to Abbott Laboratories in 1915."

It was during the 1920s when the development of Butyn, a butyl alcohol-based anesthetic, marked the beginning of Abbott's long, productive and ground-breaking involvement in the field of anesthesia. By 1930, the anesthetic Nembutal was introduced – this went on to become Abbott's best-known and longest-lived products.