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| Industry | Consumer Goods |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1884 in Warrington, England |
| Founders | William Hesketh Lever James Darcy Lever |
| Defunct | 1930 |
| Fate | Merged with Margarine Unie |
| Successor | Unilever |
| Brands | Sunlight Lifebuoy Lux Vim |
Number of employees | 250,000 (1930) |
| Parent | Unilever  |
| Subsidiaries | Curtis Davis Company Huileries du Congo Belge A&F Pears Gossage's Watson's Crosfield's Hazlehurst & Sons Hudson's |
Lever Brothers was a British manufacturing company founded in 1885 by two brothers: William Hesketh Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme (1851–1925), and James Darcy Lever (1854–1916). They invested in and successfully promoted a new soap-making process invented by chemist William Hough Watson. Lever Brothers entered the United States market in 1895 and acquired Mac Fisheries, owner of T. Wall & Sons, in 1925. Lever Brothers was one of several British companies that took an interest in the welfare of its British employees. Its brands included Lifebuoy, Lux and Vim. Lever Brothers merged with Margarine Unie to form Unilever in 1929.[1]