Early life and family He was born in
Ruardean, in the
Forest of Dean,
Gloucestershire, England, the youngest surviving child of James Horlick (1809–1878), a saddler, and his wife Priscilla Griffiths (1817–1874). He was sent to school in
Hampshire with his brothers Peter (1842–1901) and James (1844–1921), before becoming apprenticed to a local saddler. At the same time, his brother James began working for the Mellin Food Company in London, which produced a powdered baby food from
malt and
bran. When at home in Ruardean, James, William and their father began experimenting with ways of making a granulated powder based on
wheat and malted
barley which could be stored for long periods in sealed containers.
Malted milk After immigrating to the US in 1869, Horlick settled in
Racine. In 1872, he moved to
Chicago to begin a food manufacturing business with his brother, James. This was the genesis of the
Horlick Food Company, which the two founded in 1873, and moved to Racine in 1876. At around the same time, William began working on creating a dried milk product. This work culminated with a US patent in 1883 and a product that was originally called "Diastoid," but was later trademarked as "malted milk" in 1887. The company continued to expand, with new branches opening in
New York City in 1889, and in England after James returned there in 1890. James Horlick was knighted in 1914, and
raised to the baronetcy of Cowley Manor. New manufacturing plants were opened in Racine in 1902 and 1905. William served as the company's treasurer until his brother's death in 1921, at which time he became company president, holding that position until his death in 1936.
Personal life He married his second cousin Arabella Horlick (1850–1938) in 1870, while in the US. They had four children: Alice Priscilla Horlick, Alexander J. Horlick, William Oliver Horlick Jr., and Maybelle Emma Horlick Sidley. ==References==