50th anniversary of Coppertone. Schering-Plough acquired Coppertone in 1957; the company later worked to help launced the UV index, a U.S. guideline letting consumers know when it is most important to use sunscreen.

Schering Corporation merges with Plough Inc., to create Schering-Plough Corporation. Schering-Plough later merges with Netherlands-based Organon BioSciences, in 2007.

Merck introduces the first measles vaccine, and, four years later, a mumps vaccine, which Dr. Maurice Hilleman developed from throat cultures from his daughter Jeryl Lynn.

The Schering-Plough Foundation is established. Two years later, Merck establishes the Merck Company Foundation.

Merck & Co., Inc. merges with Philadelphia-based Sharp & Dohme.

A collaboration between researchers at Merck and Rutgers University leads to the discovery of streptomycin. Also in 1944, Merck succeeds in the complex synthesis of cortisone.

Eleven years later, a team of Schering scientists successfully transforms cortisone into prednisone - considered one of the most significant medical advances of the mid-twentieth century.

Merck dedicates its first research laboratories in Rahway, N.J.

The first Merck Manual is published as a guide to physicians and pharmacists. Today, The Merck Manual is published in 17 languages.

1891

Merck & Co. opens its doors in the United States. The U.S. subsidiary's parent company. E. Merck, was originally founded in Darmstadt, Germany, in 1668.

1851

Dr. Ernst Christian Friedrich Schering begins developing and selling pharmaceutical products in Berlin. Three years later, the company opened its first production facility.