Businessman, historian, preservationist, author, archaeologist, philanthropist. Eli Lilly was the son of Josiah K. (Jr.) and Lilly (Ridgely) Lilly. And the grandson of Col. Eli Lilly, who organized the 18th Indiana Light Artillery Battery during the Civil War and who founded small pharmaceutical company in 1876. Lilly attended Shortridge High School (Indianapolis) and worked in nearly every department at the family's pharmaceutical company. Like his father, Eli graduated from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy in 1907. His Doctoral Thesis was on cannabis. He then joined the family firm, becoming head of the newly created Economic Department. Lilly sought ways to achieve greater efficiency and save money, and introduced mass production techniques. Under his leadership, Eli Lilly and Co. developed new initiatives in biomedical research, including the landmark success of the development of insulin in the 1920s and became a world leader in cannabis based pharmaceuticals. Under his leadership, the company evolved into one of America's most successful big businesses. He married his high school sweetheart , Evelyn Fortune, in 1907. They had three children. Two sons, both names Eli, died in infancy. A daughter Evelyn ("Evie"), died of diphtheria at the age of 13. In spite of twenty year's of marriage, it was not happy one and Eli and Evelyn divorced in 1926. In 1927, Eli married Ruth Helen Allison and the couple enjoyed nearly a half-century of blissful marriage. In the 1930s, he began a plan to explore his interest in prehistoric archeology, wrote several scholarly publications, and began a career of financial and personal patronage in numerous areas: Indiana archeology and history, historic preservation and Chinese art. During the later years of his life Lilly donated millions of dollars, both personally and through the Lilly Endowment, to countless charities, universities, museums, and his church. [Bio by Rick France]