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In 1880 Henry Wellcome, established a pharmaceutical company, Burroughs Wellcome & Co., with his colleague Silas Mainville Burroughs. In 1895, Silas Burroughs died, leaving the company in the hands of his partner. The company flourished and Henry Wellcome set up several research laboratories linked to the drug company.
Wellcome had a passion for collecting medically related artefacts, aiming to create a Museum of Man.
In 1924, Henry Wellcome consolidated all his commercial and non-commercial activities in one holding company, The Wellcome Foundation Limited. In 1932, he was knighted and made an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. He died in 1936, and on his death the Wellcome Trust was established. In his will, Henry Wellcome vested the entire share capital of his company in individual Trustees, who were charged with spending the income to further human and animal health. The Wellcome Trust is now the world's largest private biomedical charity.
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