Johnson & Johnson begins manufacturing healthcare products in New Jersey
- When
- 1886–1888
- Where
- New Brunswick, New Jersey, United States
- Episodes
- 3
Johnson & Johnson was founded in 1886 in New Brunswick, New Jersey, by Robert Wood Johnson and his brothers James Wood Johnson and Edward Mead Johnson. The company created a line of ready-to-use sterile surgical dressings and opened its first factory building in the old Janeway and Carpenter factory on Neilson Street, beginning healthcare-product manufacturing with 14 employees. Robert Wood Johnson served as the first president.
Episodes
- Founding of Johnson & Johnson
Robert Wood Johnson joined his brothers to create sterile surgical dressings, founding the company with 14 employees in New Brunswick.
- Distribution of Antiseptic Guide
The company distributed 85,000 copies of a guide on antiseptic wound treatment to medical professionals in 1888.
- First Commercial First Aid Kit
In 1888, Johnson & Johnson designed the first commercial first aid kit to support railroad construction workers.
Background and detail
Founding and Operations. In 1886, the Johnson brothers founded Johnson & Johnson with 14 employees, consisting of eight women and six men. They created a line of ready-to-use sterile surgical dressings. The company opened its first factory building in the old Janeway and Carpenter factory on Neilson Street in New Brunswick, New Jersey, marking the start of its manufacturing operations.
Early Products. The company manufactured medicated plasters and sterile surgical products, including sutures, absorbent cotton, and gauze. These products initially featured a logo resembling James Wood Johnson's signature. In 1888, the company distributed 85,000 copies of a guide on antiseptic wound treatment to doctors and pharmacists, supporting the use of its sterile products.
People involved
- Robert Wood Johnson · Founder and First President
- James Wood Johnson · Founder
- Edward Mead Johnson · Founder
Sources
- Johnson & Johnson Wikipedia, revision of 2026-10-03
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.