David Morris Kern

David Morris Kern (1909 – May 3, 2013) was an American pharmacist and businessman. Kern developed and co-invented Orajel, a topical medication applied to relieve pain from toothaches and mouth sores.[1]

Kern was born in 1909 in Manhattan and raised in Brooklyn, New York.[1] He graduated from the Brooklyn College of Pharmacy.[1] Kern began his career as a pharmacist. He then became a salesperson for Norwich Warner Pharmaceuticals (now part of Procter & Gamble).[1]

Kern, together with his brother and two business partners, acquired a pharmaceutical manufacturing facility.[1] According to his family, Kern sought to create an oral medication to relieve tooth pain for teething babies soon after acquiring the manufacturing center.[1] Together with the collaboration a chemistry professor, Kern created and developed Orajel to relieve toothaches.[1] The over-the-counter gel was later used to alleviate mouth sores as well.[1] In 1961, Kern sold the Orajel and the rest of his company to Del Laboratories.[1]

He retired the pharmaceutical industry when he was 62 years old.[1] He then focused on managing the financial affairs of his family.[2] Kern and his wife moved to the Phoenix Metropolitan Area during the 1990s.[1]

Kern died in a nursing facility in Paradise Valley, Arizona, on May 3, 2013, at the age of 103.[1] His wife, Rose Ziedenweber Kern, whom he had been married to for sixty-five years, died in 2001.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 "'Orajel' creator David Morris Kern dies at 103". Wall Street Journal. Associated Press. 2013-05-05. Retrieved 2013-05-14.
  2. ↑ "'Orajel' creator David Morris Kern dies at 103". USA Today. Associated Press. 5 May 2013. Retrieved 19 June 2016.


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