William Horlick

William Horlick
Portrait of William Horlick
Born	(1846-02-23)23 February 1846 Ruardean, Gloucestershire, England
Died	25 September 1936(1936-09-25) (aged 90) Racine, Wisconsin, U.S.
Nationality	English
Occupation	Food manufacturer
Known for	Malted milk, Philanthropy
Spouse(s)	Arabella Horlick (1870-death)

William Horlick, Sr. (23 February 1846 – 25 September 1936) was an English-born food manufacturer and the original patent holder of malted milk. He emigrated to the United States in 1869, settling in Racine, 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 the Racine Legion, which played in the National Football League from 1922 until 1924. He died 25 September 1936 at the age of ninety.

He was born in Ruardean, in the Forest 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 in Hampshire with 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 from malt and bran. When at home in Ruardean, James, William and their father began experimenting with ways of making a granulated powder based on wheat and malted barley which could be stored for long periods in sealed containers.

After immigrating to the US in 1869, Horlick settled in Racine. In 1872, he moved to Chicago to begin a food manufacturing business with his brother, James. This was the genesis of the Horlick Food Company, which the two founded in 1875, 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 in New York City in 1889, and in England after James returned there in 1890. James Horlick was knighted in 1914, and raised 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.