Johann Benckiser
{{Short description|Founder of Joh. A. Benckiser GmbH (1782–1851)}}
File:Johann Adam Benckiser.jpg
Johann Adam Benckiser (30 December 1782 – 7 May 1851) was a German chemist who founded Benckiser N.V., a major Dutch chemicals business. Since 1999, the business has been part of Reckitt plc, a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.
Career
In 1823, Benckiser founded a business in Pforzheim, Germany, specialising in industrial chemicals and consumer goods.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2012/may/09/reckitt-benckiser-shareholders-slash-stake|title=Reckitt Benckiser's largest shareholder to slash stake|date=9 May 2012|work=The Guardian|accessdate=9 April 2017}} He initially made ammonia, hydrochloric acid and ammonium chloride.{{cite book|title=FMCG: The Power of Fast-Moving Consumer Goods|first= Greg|last= Thain |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i8MABAAAQBAJ&q=Johann+Adam+Benckiser&pg=PA379|page=379|publisher=First Edition Design|year=2014|isbn=978-1622-876-48-8}} Karl Ludwig Reimann, a chemist, joined the business in 1828 and married Benckiser's daughter.{{cite web|url=https://www.ft.com/content/242db7ea-d1a8-11e5-831d-09f7778e7377|title=Germany's intensely private and immensely wealthy Reimann family|publisher=FT.com|date=11 March 2016|accessdate=9 April 2017}} Benckiser died in May 1851.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W_XFDQAAQBAJ&q=%22Johann+Adam+Benckiser%22&pg=PA604|title=Leopold Gmelin (1788 - 1853): Leben und Werk eines Heidelberger Chemikers|first=Petra |last=Stumm|page=604|publisher=Centaurus Verlag & Media|year=2012|isbn=978-3-86226-179-6}} After that, the company was owned and enlarged by the Reimann family. In the 1980s, it became a substantial company under the guidance of manager Peter Harf.
References
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Category:19th-century German chemists