Albert C. Barnes

Albert C. Barnes
Albert C. Barnes in 1940
Born	Albert Coombs Barnes (1872-01-02)January 2, 1872 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Died	July 24, 1951(1951-07-24) (aged 79) near Malvern, Pennsylvania, United States
Cause of death	Traffic collision
Residence	Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania
Alma mater	University of Pennsylvania
Known for	Chemist, businessman, physician, art collector

Albert Coombs Barnes (January 2, 1872 – July 24, 1951) was an American physician, chemist, businessman, art collector, writer, and educator, and the founder of the Barnes Foundation in Lower Merion, Pennsylvania.

Albert Barnes was born in Philadelphia to working-class parents. His father, a butcher, lost his right arm at the Battle of Cold Harbor during the American Civil War, and became a letter carrier after the war. Barnes' mother was a devout Methodist who took him to African-American camp meetings and revivals.

Albert Barnes earned a spot at the public academic Central High School in Philadelphia. There he became friends with William Glackens, who later became an artist and advised him on his first collecting efforts. Barnes went on to college and medical school at the University of Pennsylvania, earning his way by tutoring, boxing, and playing semi-professional baseball. By age 20, he was a medical doctor. He went into research as a chemist rather than clinical practice.

In 1899, with a German chemist named Hermann Hille, Barnes developed a mild silver nitrate antiseptic solution. He formed a company and marketed the drug as Argyrol, a treatment for gonorrhea and a preventative of gonorrheal blindness in newborn infants. The drug was an immediate financial success. Barnes proved adept at business. To avoid having Argyrol being stolen by competitors, he convinced Hille not to patent it. He marketed directly to physicians, and took his product abroad. Within five years of starting the business in 1902, the firm cleared $250,000 in profits ($6,920,192 today). He bought out Hille, and in 1907, Barnes had become a millionaire at the age of 35. In July 1929, he sold his business for a reported sum of $6 million. The move was well timed, as he sold before the and the discovery of antibiotics, which replaced Argyrol in use.