Smith, Thomas James – Founder of pharmacutical giant trained in Grantham

Thomas James Smith (1827-1896)

Thomas James Smith was the founder of Smith & Nephew, one of the United Kingdom’s largest medical devices businesses.

After training as a pharmacist at a dispensing chemist in Grantham and then at University College, London, Thomas Smith opened his own chemist’s shop in Hull in 1856.

In 1858 he began selling cod-liver oil mostly from Newfoundland although he obtained one large batch at a cheaper price from Norway. He sold these supplies to hospitals on a wholesale basis.

In 1896 he was joined by his nephew, Horatio Nelson Smith, who helped build TJ Smith & Nephew into a global medical supplies business. Thomas Smith died later that year.

In 1928 the company acquired the licence to market and produce the Elastoplast range of bandages. By 1977 the company acquired the pump manufacturer Watson-Marlow Pumps, before selling it to Spirax-Sarco Engineering in 1990. In 1986 it went on to acquire Richards Medical Company, a US specialist in orthopaedic products for £201 million.

In February 2014, Smith & Nephew announced the purchase of ArthroCare for US$1.7 billion in cash. This was seen as a move to broaden the company’s sports medicine range for minimally invasive surgery moves the company into the Ear, Nose & Throat market.