American pharmacist (1898-1957). Full name:
Erick Robert McPherson, but he insisted on being called "
Bobby" because that was the name he played
football under when he was in
college.
Anyway, McPherson's
claim to fame is this: he was the man who
invented the
eucalyptus cough drop back in
1935. Unfortunately, he didn't
patent it, and other companies quickly and eagerly stole the
formula. He didn't die
penniless and
alone (he had a
heart attack while working at his
New York drugstore in
1957), but he wasn't as
rich as he could have been.
Interestingly, three of his five
children also became
pharmacists, while the other two (an
accountant and a
chemist) both worked for
pharmaceutical companies that
profited from their father's
invention...
Of course it's a
true story!