It was late fall in 1857, when Edward Squibb was given the rather unexpected bit of news from his wife that they were to expect a new baby the following June. He was doing well in his career as a physician, but he kept seeing an increase in the supply of poor quality drugs and so with his current low salary, and the news that their family was expanding, he decided to start a company and dedicate his career to manufacturing drugs that were pure, high quality, and effective.