1885 - Lever Brothers founded by William Hesketh Lever (1851–1925) and his brother, James Darcy Lever (1854–1910) at a soap works in Warrington; teamed up with chemist, William Hough Watson from Bolton who invented new soap process using glycerin and vegetable oils such as palm oil, rather than tallow, later named 'Sunlight Soap'. about 1888 premises were built on marshes at Bromborough Pool on the Wirral Peninsula later known as Port Sunlight. Brands included 'Lifebuoy', 'Lux', 'Vim'

1930 - founded on 1 January by Antonius Johannes Jurgens, Samuel van den Bergh and William Hulme Lever, 2nd Viscount Leverhulme; created by the amalgamation of English soap makers Lever Brothers and Margarine Unie, a dutch margarine company. They expanded worldwide, buying food and drink companies such as Brooke Bond and Chesebrough-Ponds, as well as cosmetics companies such as Helene Curtis Industries.