Founder Profile
Silvanus Bevan
Last reviewed: October 2026 · By Swet Parvadiya
Who is Silvanus Bevan?
Silvanus Bevan is a founder of GSK plc, which was founded in 1715 with Joseph Nathan, John K. Smith, Mahlon Kline and Henry Wellcome.
- Company founded
- GSK plc
- Founded
- 1715
- Co-founders
- Joseph Nathan, John K. Smith, Mahlon Kline and Henry Wellcome
Background
London apothecary; founder of the Plough Court pharmacy, GSK's oldest predecessor business.
Founding Story
Silvanus Bevan was a Quaker apothecary who opened a pharmacy at Plough Court in the City of London in 1715. The business later became Allen & Hanburys, a respiratory-medicine specialist that Glaxo acquired in 1958, which is why GSK dates its history to 1715.