Bobst, Elmer Holmes, 1884-1978

Elmer Holmes Bobst (1884-1978), the third of five children of Isaac and Alice (Holmes) Bobst. Bobst's first wife, Ethel Rose, died in 1953. In 1961 he remarried the former Mamdouha As-Sayyid, a social scientist serving on Lebanon's delegation to the United Nations.

Elmer Holmes Bobst began his career as a pharmacist and later exerted tremendous influence over the modern pharmaceutical industry, becoming, in 1920, manager and treasurer of the Hoffman-LaRoche Chemical Works (later, Roche-Nutley); then as president and chief executive officer of William Warner Company (later, board chairman of Warner-Lambert). Bobst became a White House advisor on health issues during Richard Nixon's presidency. He was a noted philanthropist, with particular commitment to the support of the American Cancer Society. Further, his keen interest in education led him to make substantial gifts to Columbia University, the University of Pennsylvania, Franklin and Marshall College, the Elmer Holmes Bobst Institute of Clinical Research at Hahnemann Medical College and Hospital in Philadelphia, Chungang University in Seoul, Korea, and a $11.5 million gift to New York University for the Elmer Holmes Bobst Library and Study Center.

From the description of Elmer Holmes Bobst papers, 1863-1989 (inclusive). [ca. 1940]-1970 (bulk). (New York University). WorldCat record id: 477253964

Elmer Holmes Bobst lived out the American dream. For this self-educated son of a Lutheran minister, intellect plus hard work did indeed produce great success.

Bobst's father served in the Union army in the Civil War and was a member of the 128th Pennsylvania Infantry. His regiment saw action at Antietam and Chancellorsville where he was captured and paroled. He re-enlisted into the 1st Pennsylvania Cavalry and served until captured and sent to Andersonville in 1864. Isaac Bobst's Civil War experiences are chronicled in Daniel Biles': 'A Soldier's Journey: An Account of Private Isaac Bobst, 128th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry and 1st Pennsylvania Cavalry, from Antietam to Andersonville. Gettysburg, PA: Thomas Publications, 1990 available to view in the Fales Library.

The third of Isaac and Alice (Holmes) Bobst's five children, Elmer (born in 1884) hoped to become a doctor. But he was able to complete just one year at Franklin and Marshall College (on a baseball scholarship) before family financial problems forced him to seek work.

Bobst took a job in a Philadelphia drug store. During his few off hours, he taught himself pharmacology, passing both Pennsylvania's assistant pharmacist and managing registered pharmacist examinations in 1905. Self-study also prepared him to pass the state's preliminary bar examination in 1907. But family responsibilities prevented him from continuing his legal education. The law's loss proved to be commerce's gain, for Bobst went on to help shape the modern pharmaceutical industry and to build two of the industry's greatest firms.

Starting as a salesman at the New York office of the Swiss company Hoffmann-LaRoche in 1911, Bobst became manager and treasurer of the Hoffman-LaRoche Chemical Works by 1920. In 1928, he moved operations to Nutley, New Jersey and restructured the U.S. branch as an independent subsidiary, Roche-Nutley. By 1940, Roche-Nutley was generating two-thirds of Hoffman-LaRoche's total profits, and Bobst, when he retired in 1944, was one of the nation's highest paid corporate executives.(1)

The parent company was not the only beneficiary of Roche-Nutley's success; so were employees of the U.S. subsidiary. As Bobst wrote in his autobiography, "I was so regularly underpaid and overworked . . . that . . . when I reached a position where I could do something about decent working conditions and generous employee benefits in the pharmaceutical industry, I did."(2)

Bobst's retirement lasted less than a year. In 1945 he took charge of the ailing William Warner Company. As president and chief executive officer, he turned the company around, later merged it with the Lambert Company, and made it one of the world's largest pharmaceutical manufacturers. He remained board chairman of Warner-Lambert.

Active in politics, Bobst was a close friend of Richard Nixon, helped guide his career, contributed generously to his campaigns, and was instrumental in his joining the New York law firm of Nixon, Mudge, Rose, and Alexander. After Nixon's election in 1968, Bobst became a White House advisor on health issues. But he makes clear in his autobiography his opposition to U.S. military action in Vietnam(3) and his disapproval of the Watergate cover-up.(4)

A man of strong principles, Bobst enjoyed a reputation for fairness and honesty. Columnist Jack Anderson described him as "a veritable saint among the robber barons of the drug industry," who "steered clear of price-fixing and other scandals that have characterized the industry." While with Hoffman-LaRoche, he forced the parent company to end its dealings in illicit drugs. As head of Warner-Lambert he turned down an opportunity to acquire the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, feeling that such an acquisition was inconsistent with his efforts to promote health.(5)

A dedicated philanthropist, he enjoyed great success selling war bonds during World War II. But his major and most sustained commitment was to the American Cancer Society. "As I look over all I have done in my life," Bobst said," there is nothing more rewarding than my Cancer Society experience. If I have performed a service to mankind, that is it."(6) In addition to generous support of the Cancer Society, Bobst also made substantial gifts to such educational institutions as Columbia University, the University of Pennsylvania, Franklin and Marshall College, the Elmer Holmes Bobst Institute of Clinical Research at Hahnemann Medical College and Hospital in Philadelphia, and Chungang University in Seoul, Korea.

A notable contribution to education was his $11.5 million gift to New York University for the Elmer Holmes Bobst Library and Study Center. NYU President James Hester wrote, in his forward to Bobst's autobiography, "Mr. Bobst has made a major contribution to a library because he knows the value of libraries in his own self-education."(7)

Among the many awards accorded Elmer Bobst were honorary degrees from Franklin and Marshall College, Hahnemann Medical College, Rider College, and the University of Pennsylvania. He received the Henry Busby Award from Columbia University's College of Pharmacy in 1961, the National Cancer Society Award in 1962, the Horatio Alger Award in 1965, and the Albert Gallatin Award of New York University in 1966.

Bobst's first wife, the former Ethel Rose, died in 1953. His only child, Elmer Walton Bobst, died in 1964, leaving two daughters and four grandchildren. In 1961, Elmer

Bobst married the former Mamdouha As-Sayyid, a social scientist serving on Lebanon's delegation to the United Nations.

Until his death in 1978, at the age of 93, Bobst remained active. His legacy is a rich one, and his work goes on, sustained today by the philanthropic efforts of his widow, Mamdouha Bobst.

Sources:

From the guide to the Elmer Holmes Bobst Collection, 1862-1978, (© 2012 Fales Library and Special Collections)