| Dr. Emanuel von Salis (1859-1939) Photo: Williams Haynes, American Chemical Industry, Vol. III |
Emanuel von Salis, a manufacturing chemist in the early United States dyestuff and pharmaceutical industries, was born in Basle,
Switzerland in 1859. He graduated from the Swiss Polytechnic Institute at Zurich in 1883 with the Bachelor of Chemistry degree. He
was awarded a doctoral degree at the University of Geneva.
Dr. von Salis was the owner of Hohenhauser and Co., a dye business in Manchester, England, before coming to the U.S. in 1898. He
joined the American Color and Chemical Company in September 1898 as vice president and general manager. This company had
been established earlier that year on Waterloo Island in the Hudson River near Albany, New York. After a promising start in the textile
dyes market, a fire destroyed much of the plant around 1901. American Color and Chemical Company was liquidated in 1903 and
Dr. von Salis joined the nearby Hudson River Aniline Color Works as manager of operations. He continued in this position when the
company was acquired by Friedrich Bayer & Co. in 1903.
Under his leadership, the plant expanded its dye production and began the first U.S. manufacture of aspirin in 1904. The plant became
known as The Bayer Company in 1913. Dr. von Salis was vice president and general manager when the company was seized by the
U.S. government in 1917 as enemy property. Dr. von Salis was named to the board of directors by the government. The Alien Property
Custodian sold the business in 1918 to Sterling Products Inc., a drug manufacturer of Wheeling, West Virginia. Sterling Products
immediately sold the dye-making portion of the company and plant to the Grasselli Chemical Company of Cleveland, Ohio.
Dr. von Salis remained as vice president and general manager of both companies operating at the Rensselaer plant. After 1926 he
was only associated with the pharmaceutical manufacturing. He retired in 1934 but continued a consulting relationship, visiting the
plant daily.
The Swiss Polytechnic Institute renewed Dr. von Salis’s degree in 1933 to recognize the 50th anniversary of his graduation. He was
vice president and a trustee of the Rensselaer County Bank and a trustee of the Home Savings Bank of Albany.
In 1934, Dr. von Salis attended the retirement celebration of Raymond Foster, president of the Winthrop Chemical Company which
operated the pharmaceutical portion of the Rensselaer site.
Dr. von Salis died on March 9, 1939 in Beverly Hills, while vacationing with his wife in California.
References:
1) “Emanuel von Salis of Aspirin Firm, 80”, New York Times, March 10, 1939
2) James E. Donahue III, “Rensselaer: Cradle of the American Dyestuff Industry”, American Dyestuff Reporter, Vol. 81, No. 11,
November 1992, pp. 159-163
3) Leander Ricard, “A History of the Dye Producing Industry in Rensselaer, New York, Textile Chemist and Colorist, Vol. 26, No. 8,
August 1994, pp. 23-26
Switzerland in 1859. He graduated from the Swiss Polytechnic Institute at Zurich in 1883 with the Bachelor of Chemistry degree. He
was awarded a doctoral degree at the University of Geneva.
Dr. von Salis was the owner of Hohenhauser and Co., a dye business in Manchester, England, before coming to the U.S. in 1898. He
joined the American Color and Chemical Company in September 1898 as vice president and general manager. This company had
been established earlier that year on Waterloo Island in the Hudson River near Albany, New York. After a promising start in the textile
dyes market, a fire destroyed much of the plant around 1901. American Color and Chemical Company was liquidated in 1903 and
Dr. von Salis joined the nearby Hudson River Aniline Color Works as manager of operations. He continued in this position when the
company was acquired by Friedrich Bayer & Co. in 1903.
Under his leadership, the plant expanded its dye production and began the first U.S. manufacture of aspirin in 1904. The plant became
known as The Bayer Company in 1913. Dr. von Salis was vice president and general manager when the company was seized by the
U.S. government in 1917 as enemy property. Dr. von Salis was named to the board of directors by the government. The Alien Property
Custodian sold the business in 1918 to Sterling Products Inc., a drug manufacturer of Wheeling, West Virginia. Sterling Products
immediately sold the dye-making portion of the company and plant to the Grasselli Chemical Company of Cleveland, Ohio.
Dr. von Salis remained as vice president and general manager of both companies operating at the Rensselaer plant. After 1926 he
was only associated with the pharmaceutical manufacturing. He retired in 1934 but continued a consulting relationship, visiting the
plant daily.
The Swiss Polytechnic Institute renewed Dr. von Salis’s degree in 1933 to recognize the 50th anniversary of his graduation. He was
vice president and a trustee of the Rensselaer County Bank and a trustee of the Home Savings Bank of Albany.
In 1934, Dr. von Salis attended the retirement celebration of Raymond Foster, president of the Winthrop Chemical Company which
operated the pharmaceutical portion of the Rensselaer site.
Dr. von Salis died on March 9, 1939 in Beverly Hills, while vacationing with his wife in California.
References:
1) “Emanuel von Salis of Aspirin Firm, 80”, New York Times, March 10, 1939
2) James E. Donahue III, “Rensselaer: Cradle of the American Dyestuff Industry”, American Dyestuff Reporter, Vol. 81, No. 11,
November 1992, pp. 159-163
3) Leander Ricard, “A History of the Dye Producing Industry in Rensselaer, New York, Textile Chemist and Colorist, Vol. 26, No. 8,
August 1994, pp. 23-26
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Emanuel von Salis Biography
ColorantsHistory.Org
| Left: Dr. von Salis Note Accepting Invitation to Retirement Celebration of Raymond Foster in 1934. Foster Was President of Winthrop Chemical Company. Right: Executives Attending the Retirement Celebration Included Dr. von Salis. Click Images to Enlarge |