William Horlick

William Horlick, Sr.(23 February 1846 – 25 September 1936)was an English food manufacturer and the original patent holder ofmalted milk. He emigrated to the United States in 1869, settling inRacine, Wisconsin. There he started a food company with his brother,James. Horlick was a well-known philanthropist in the Racine area. He was also a major sponsor of theRacine Legion, which played in theNational Football Leaguefrom 1922 until 1924. He died 25 September 1936 at the age of ninety.
He was born inRuardean, in theForest of Dean,Gloucestershire, England, the youngest surviving child of James Horlick (1809–1878), a saddler, and his wife Priscilla Griffiths (1817–1874). He was sent to school inHampshirewith his brothers Peter (1842–1901) and James (1844–1921), before becoming apprenticed to a local saddler. At the same time, his brother James began working for the Mellin Food Company in London, which produced a powdered baby food frommaltandbran. When at home in Ruardean, James, William and their father began experimenting with ways of making a granulated powder based onwheatand maltedbarleywhich could be stored for long periods in sealed containers.
After immigrating to the US in 1869, Horlick settled inRacine. In 1872, he moved toChicagoto begin a food manufacturing business with his brother, James. This was the genesis of theHorlick Food Company, which the two founded in 1873, and moved to Racine in 1876. At around the same time, William began working on creating a dried milk product. This work culminated with a US patent in 1883 and a product that was originally called "Diastoid," but was later trademarked as "malted milk" in 1887.
The company continued to expand, with new branches opening inNew York Cityin 1889, and in England after James returned there in 1890. James Horlick was knighted in 1914, andraised to the baronetcy of Cowley Manor.New manufacturing plants were opened in Racine in 1902 and 1905. William served as the company's treasurer until his brother's death in 1921, at which time he became company president, holding that position until his death in 1936.
Horlick was a prominent philanthropist, especially in the Racine area. Gifts in Racine includeMemorial Hall, a maternity wing at St. Luke's Hospital (in memory of his daughter Alice),Island Park, andHorlick Athletic Field, and the land for the high school named in his honour (William Horlick High School).
Horlick also supported several polar expeditions, including one to theAntarcticbyRichard Byrdand another to theNorth PolebyRoald Amundsen. Horlick not only supported the expeditions financially, but his malted milk also provided non-perishable nutrition for the explorers. Because of his contributions, Byrd named theHorlick MountainsinAntarcticaafter William Horlick.
In 1919, Horlick sponsored what was then called the "Horlick-Racine Legion". The team was sponsored by him and theAmerican Legion Racine Post no. 76.Horlick paid the debts incurred for operating the Racine Legion. He also gave free use of hisathletic fieldto both the Horlick-Racine Legion and Racine Tornadoes Football teams. He contributed substantial sums of money to convert Horlick Athletic Field to accommodate professional football and expended over $100,000 to cover the expenses of three 1920s seasons.
He married his second cousin Arabella Horlick (1850–1938) in 1870, while in the US.They had four children: Alice Priscilla Horlick, Alexander J. Horlick, William Oliver Horlick Jr., and Maybelle Emma Horlick Sidley.