Edwin Wiley Grove Biography

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We might not study him in history. Most people have probably never heard his name or seen his invention. But his research and developments have had remarkable impacts on his generation and has laid the groundwork for some aspects of science today. This person is Edwin Wiley Grove.

Edwin Wiley Grove was born on December 27, 1850 in Bolivar, Hardin County, Tennessee. He was the son of James Henry Grove and Mary Jane Harris Grove. Although he was born to a very poor family, he still managed to attend school regularly and maintain good grades. After attending his local schools for his primary education, he went to pharmacy school in Memphis, just two counties west of his hometown. After graduating from pharmacy school, he got a job offer at Dr. S. H. Caldwell and A. B. Mitchum’s pharmacy in Paris, Tennessee. So at just the age of twenty-four, Grove left his home region of southwest Tennessee and moved to northwest Tennessee to become a clerk for the small pharmacy. After a few years of hard work and learning the business, Dr. Cadwell accepted Grove as a business partner. In 1880, when he was just twenty-nine years old, he bought out his business partners and renamed the
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Grove a multi-millionaire overnight and a household name for years. Although his quinine was not quite tasteless, the quinine was easier to swallow than the original formula. The quinine quickly became a household necessity. By 1890, more bottles of Chill Tonic were sold than bottles of Coca-Cola! Along with his quinine, Grove also made other various household medicines , such as, Grove’s Laxative Bromo Quinine tablets, to treat common illnesses. Soon, Grove’s business had gotten so big that he had to move to St. Louis so that he could more easily ship his products throughout the United States. By 1900, Grove’s Company was the largest distributor of quinine in the world and had company branch offices in Toronto, London, Paris, Australia, Brazil, and