Liggett Group
| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Tobacco |
| Predecessors | Liggett & Myers Tobacco Company |
| Headquarters | Durham, North Carolina, United States |
|
Area served
|
United States |
|
Key people
|
Christopher Foulks, Founder |
| Products | Tobacco |
| Owner | Vector Group |
| Website | www.liggettgroup.com |
Liggett Group (/ˈlɪɡᵻt/ LIG-it), formerly known as Liggett & Myers Tobacco Company, is the fourth largest tobacco company in the United States. Its headquarters are located in Durham, North Carolina, though its manufacturing facility is 30 miles to the west in Mebane, North Carolina. The company is a subsidiary of holding company Vector Group.
John Edmund Liggett's grandfather, Christopher Foulks, was the owner of a snuff mill in New Egypt, New Jersey. During the War of 1812 the mill was razed by British soldiers. Foulks moved west around 1820 and opened a new snuff shop in Belleville, Illinois, in 1822. In 1833 he moved his tobacco business to St. Louis, Missouri, where in 1844–1847 (dates uncertain) John Edmund Liggett entered his grandfather's business.
By 1858, Foulks's company was known as J. E. Liggett and Brother. Around 1869 the company created the first blended cigarettes, using a mixture of Turkish and Virginia tobaccos. A partnership was formed with George Smith Myers of Missouri, and in 1873 The Liggett & Myers Tobacco Company was incorporated.
In 1876, Liggett & Myers introduced L&M plug chewing tobacco, during the 1880s it entered the cigarette business and by 1885 the company had become the world's largest manufacturer of plug chewing tobacco.
John E. Liggett died in 1897 and two years later Liggett & Myers was acquired by American Tobacco Company, controlled by James Buchanan Duke. George S. Myers died in 1910 and the following year the U.S. Court of Appeals issued a Dissolution Decree to the American Tobacco Company which created the opportunity for Liggett & Myers Tobacco Company to be reborn. It was headquartered in St Louis again.
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