Founder Profile
Joseph Nathan
Last reviewed: October 2026 · By Swet Parvadiya
Who is Joseph Nathan?
Joseph Nathan is a founder of GSK plc, which was founded in 1715 with Silvanus Bevan, John K. Smith, Mahlon Kline and Henry Wellcome.
- Company founded
- GSK plc
- Founded
- 1715
- Co-founders
- Silvanus Bevan, John K. Smith, Mahlon Kline and Henry Wellcome
Background
London-born merchant who built a trading company, Joseph Nathan & Co., in Wellington, New Zealand.
Founding Story
Joseph Nathan emigrated from London to New Zealand and founded a general trading business in Wellington. In 1904 the firm began producing dried milk at Bunnythorpe and sold it as baby food under the Glaxo name. Glaxo later moved to London, expanded into vitamins and pharmaceuticals, and in the 1940s produced penicillin. Glaxo Laboratories became one of the companies that formed Glaxo Wellcome in 1995 and GlaxoSmithKline in 2000. (Exact birth year remains publicly undisclosed).
Sources
This profile does not yet cite a source specific to Joseph Nathan. The sources below document the company company rather than the person, so check them against the claims above.
- GSK 2025 Annual Report (GSK plc)
- GSK 2025 Annual Report PDF (GSK plc)