Overview
Eli Lilly's long life extended over a wide range of endeavors in which he made major contributions. Under his active leadership, the pharmaceutical company he joined in 1907 evolved into one of America's most successful big businesses. Although a hard-working businessman, Lilly eventually acquired diverse interests outside the pharmaceutical industry. During the last three decades of his life Lilly gave away millions of dollars personally and through the Lily Endowment. This first, full-scale biography of Eli Lilly considers his private life, his modest but strong-willed character, his family and friends, and his personal disappointments and satisfactions.