Duncan

Duncan, Flockhart & Co. was a prominent Scottish pharmaceutical company founded in the early 19th century, best known for its pioneering role in the manufacture and supply of medical anesthetics. The company gained international fame for providing the chloroform used by Sir James Young Simpson in his first public demonstration of its anesthetic properties in 1847. Throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, it established itself as a leading manufacturer of high-quality pharmaceutical chemicals and medicinal preparations. The firm was eventually integrated into larger pharmaceutical entities, becoming part of Glaxo (now GSK) through a series of mergers. Its legacy remains tied to the early development of surgical anesthesia and the industrialization of pharmaceutical production in the United Kingdom.