Robert Wood Johnson

The largest healthcare company in the world began as a simple partnership among three forward-thinking siblings. We explore the lasting impact James, Edward Mead and Robert Johnson, the company’s first president, had on Johnson & Johnson.

In honor of the World Health Organization’s Save Lives: Clean Your Hands campaign, we look at how the company helped usher in the concept of sterile surgery at a time when physicians weren’t even in the habit of scrubbing in.

For the first installment of our J&J Lightbulb Moment series—which looks at pivotal “aha moments” at the company that had a lasting impact on healthcare—we delve into how a chance meeting on a cross-country trip inspired a life-changing invention.

We trace the company’s 130-year evolution from a small operation with 14 employees to its IPO 75 years ago this month to its current standing as a forward-thinking healthcare leader.