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Lever Brothers was a British manufacturer founded in 1885 by William Hesketh Lever (1851–1925) and his brother, James Darcy Lever (1854–1910). The brothers had invested in and promoted a new soap making process invented by chemist William Hough Watson, it was a huge success. Lever Brothers merged with Margarine Unie in 1930 to form Unilever.

History

They are famous for making the lever mostly used in minecraft. Starting with a small grocery business begun by his father, William Lever and his brother James entered the soap business in 1885 by buying a small soap works in Warrington. The brothers teamed up with a Bolton chemist, William Hough Watson, who became an early business partner. Watson invented the process which resulted in a new soap, using glycerin and vegetable oils such as palm oil, rather than tallow.^[1] The resulting soap was a good, free-lathering soap, at first named Honey Soap then later named "Sunlight Soap". Production reached 450 tons per week by 1888. Larger premises were built on marshes at Bromborough Pool on the Wirral Peninsula at what became Port Sunlight.^[2] Though the company was named Lever Brothers, William Lever's brother and co-director James never took a major part in running the business. He fell ill in 1895, probably as a result of diabetes, and resigned his directorship two years later.^[3]

Employee welfare

Lever Brothers was one of several British companies that took an interest in the welfare of its employees.^[4] The model village of Port Sunlight was developed between 1888 and 1914 adjoining the soap factory to accommodate the company's staff in good quality housing, with high architectural standards and many community facilities.

Brands

By 1900 "Lifebuoy", "Lux" and "Vim" brands had been added and subsidiaries had been set up in the United States, Switzerland, Canada, Australia, Germany and elsewhere. By 1911 the company had its own oil palm plantations in Belgian Congo and the Solomon Islands. Lever Brothers Ltd also acquired other soap companies including A&F Pears, Gossage's of Widnes, Watson's of Leeds, Crosfield's of Warrington, Hazlehurst & Sons of Runcorn and Hudson's of Liverpool. The town Leverville (the present-day Lusanga) was founded in the Bandundu district, named after William Lever.

Lever Brothers rode the cresting late-Victorian consumer revolution to build a vast worldwide industrial empire. Four years after William Lever's death in 1925 his enterprises were amalgamated as Unilever. By 1930 it employed a 250,000 and in terms of market value, was the largest company in Britain.^[5]

Unilever

The company grew and operated until 1930, when it merged with a Dutch company, Margarine Unie, to form Unilever, the first modern multinational company.^[6] The Lever Brothers name was kept for a time as an imprint, as well as the name of the US subsidiary, Lever Brothers Company, and a Canadian subsidiary, Lever Brothers Ltd. Lever Brothers was sold to a US capital firm Pensler Capital Corporation and renamed Korex in 2008. Korex Don Valley assumed operations of the Lever Brothers Toronto plant. It has since closed and gone bankrupt.

Presidents of Lever Brothers

Among its presidents was Charles Luckman in the 1950s who would champion the construction of the Lever House in New York City. Luckman would leave the company before the building's completion to achieve a notable architect career on his own including the design of Madison Square Garden, the Theme Building and master plan for Los Angeles International Airport, Aon Center and initial buildings of the Kennedy Space Center and Johnson Space Center.^[7]

References

^ President Post,
^ "Unilever: A company history". BBC. Tuesday, 22 February, 2000. Retrieved July 09, 2011. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
^ Macqueen 2005, p. 144
^ Brian Lewis, So Clean: Lord Leverhulme, Soap and Civilization (2008)
^ Brian Lewis, So Clean: Lord Leverhulme, Soap and Civilization (2008)
^ Lewis So Clean (2008)
^ Charles Luckman, Architect Who Designed Penn Station's Replacement, Dies at 89 – New York Times – January 28, 1999

Bibliography

Macqueen, Adam (2005), The King of Sunlight: How William Lever Cleaned Up the World, Random House, ISBN 978-0-552-15087-3

[watson-1] President Post,

[bbcbusiness-2] "Unilever: A company history". BBC. Tuesday, 22 February, 2000. Retrieved July 09, 2011. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)

[3] Macqueen 2005, p. 144

[4] Brian Lewis, So Clean: Lord Leverhulme, Soap and Civilization (2008)

[5] Brian Lewis, So Clean: Lord Leverhulme, Soap and Civilization (2008)

[6] Lewis So Clean (2008)

[7] Charles Luckman, Architect Who Designed Penn Station's Replacement, Dies at 89 – New York Times – January 28, 1999

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 == History ==
-Starting with a small grocery business begun by his father, William Lever and his brother James entered the soap business in 1885 by buying a small [[soap]] works in [[Warrington]]. The brothers teamed up with a [[Bolton]] chemist, William Hough Watson, who became an early business partner. Watson invented the process which resulted in a new soap, using [[glycerin]] and vegetable oils such as [[palm oil]], rather than [[tallow]].<ref name="watson">[http://www.thepresidentpost.com/?p=2621 President Post],</ref> The resulting soap was a good, free-lathering soap, at first named Honey Soap then later named "[[Sunlight (cleaning product)|Sunlight Soap]]". Production reached 450 tons per week by 1888. Larger premises were built on marshes at [[Bromborough|Bromborough Pool]] on the [[Wirral Peninsula]] at what became [[Port Sunlight]].<ref name="bbcbusiness">{{cite web | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/651938.stm | title=Unilever: A company history | publisher=BBC | date=Tuesday, 22 February, 2000 | accessdate=July 09, 2011}}</ref>  Though the company was named Lever Brothers, William Lever's brother and co-director James never took a major part in running the business.  He fell ill in 1895, probably as a result of [[diabetes]], and resigned his directorship two years later.<ref>{{Harvnb|Macqueen|2005|p=144}}</ref>
+They are famous for making the lever mostly used in minecraft. Starting with a small grocery business begun by his father, William Lever and his brother James entered the soap business in 1885 by buying a small [[soap]] works in [[Warrington]]. The brothers teamed up with a [[Bolton]] chemist, William Hough Watson, who became an early business partner. Watson invented the process which resulted in a new soap, using [[glycerin]] and vegetable oils such as [[palm oil]], rather than [[tallow]].<ref name="watson">[http://www.thepresidentpost.com/?p=2621 President Post],</ref> The resulting soap was a good, free-lathering soap, at first named Honey Soap then later named "[[Sunlight (cleaning product)|Sunlight Soap]]". Production reached 450 tons per week by 1888. Larger premises were built on marshes at [[Bromborough|Bromborough Pool]] on the [[Wirral Peninsula]] at what became [[Port Sunlight]].<ref name="bbcbusiness">{{cite web | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/651938.stm | title=Unilever: A company history | publisher=BBC | date=Tuesday, 22 February, 2000 | accessdate=July 09, 2011}}</ref>  Though the company was named Lever Brothers, William Lever's brother and co-director James never took a major part in running the business.  He fell ill in 1895, probably as a result of [[diabetes]], and resigned his directorship two years later.<ref>{{Harvnb|Macqueen|2005|p=144}}</ref>
 ===Employee welfare===