Lowell Palmer Weicker was born in Stamford, Connecticut, the second child of Theodore Weicker, a German-born chemist who in 1904 acquired a substantial interest in E. R. Squibb and Sons and built it into a major American pharmaceutical firm, and Florence Edith Palmer, a daughter of his father's partner, Lowell M. Palmer.
After attending grade school in Connecticut and the Culver Military Academy (1919 - 1921), Weicker graduated from the Lawrenceville School (1922) and earned a B. S. from Yale (1926).
In 1927, Weicker joined E. R. Squibb and Sons. In 1928 the company sent him to France to manage and expand its European interests. Weicker contributed substantially to the company's diversification overseas. In 1930, while in Paris, he acquired Lenthéric, a French perfume and toiletries company, significantly expanding that aspect of Squibb's business in America and Europe. Weicker became a director of Squibb in 1932. On returning to the United States in 1936, he became vice-president in charge of sales and advertising. In 1941 he became Squibb's president, a post he held (with the exception of service in the armed forces during World War II) until 1953, when Squibb merged with the Mathiesen Chemical Corporation. Weicker served in the Army Air Forces from 1942 to 1945, most notably overseas as deputy director of intelligence on the staff of General Carl Spaatz. Weicker's extensive knowledge of Europe and his fluency in French, German, and Italian were of assistance in the development of a strategic bombing policy during the war's latter months in Europe. Weicker, who attained the rank of colonel, was awarded the Bronze Star and the croix de guerre with palms, as well as an Order of the British Empire. At war's end Weicker returned to Squibb and helped lead it to increasing prosperity. The company's net earnings nearly doubled between 1946 and 1951. Although the company faced increased competition (especially in antibiotics), its sales of antibiotics, vitamins, cosmetics, anesthetics, and diverse pharmaceutical supplies soared. By 1951 its annual sales, which in 1946 had been about $59 million, were over $100 million. The Mathiesen Chemical Corporation, which had expanded dramatically in the late 1940's, aggressively recruited Squibb's officers. After World War II, the Palmer and Weicker families reduced their holdings in Squibb; between 1949 and 1951 alone, these holdings decreased by 15 percent. But the Palmers, the Weickers, and various family trusts still held nearly half of Squibb's stock, and thus once they agreed to a merger, it took place quickly. To the tune of $100 million, five shares of Mathiesen common stock were exchanged for every three shares of Squibb. The Palmer and Weicker families' and the family trust shares were placed in a voting trust; Weicker was not one of the trustees. In 1953, Weicker--on the recommendation of President Dwight D. Eisenhower--became an assistant secretary-general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), in charge of production and logistics. Moving once again to Europe, he served NATO efficiently and had some success in reducing unnecessary bureaucratic procedures before resigning in 1956. That same year, on returning to the United States, Weicker became president of Bigelow-Sanford, then one of the leading domestic producers of rugs and carpets. Weicker worked diligently, intelligently, and ruthlessly to revive a once-profitable company that sustained losses during the early 1950's and that in 1954 earned a little more than $107, 000 on sales of over $68 million. Weicker dropped traditional product lines, sold off money-losing operations, fired many executives, and transferred 80 percent of Bigelow-Sanford's manufacturing from New York State and Connecticut to South Carolina, where labor was cheaper. Putting Bigelow-Sanford's house in order (to use Weicker's words) initially resulted in further losses. But ultimately he succeeded in transforming an old manufacturing firm and placing it on a profitable footing. In 1958 the company lost $1. 7 million, but by 1964 there had been five consecutive profitable years, earnings had risen to $3 million annually, and sales had increased to over $82 million. Weicker continued as Bigelow-Sanford's president until 1968, when he became chairman. In 1970, Sperry and Hutchinson, as part of diversification, bought the firm. Weicker became chairman of the board's executive committee, retiring to honorary status in 1976. During these years he continued to serve as a director of various companies. He died in New York City.
Born into well-to-do circumstances that gave him a confidence, allowed him to follow his own inclinations, and eased his way into the business world, Weicker did well, heading two very different types of companies. In essence he was a journeyman executive who believed that "basically all business is the same. . You deal with costs and inefficiencies you deal with people. " A demanding man, whose personal relationships were not always easy, Weicker (notwithstanding his personal wealth) is representative of many of the American business executives of his time.
On October 22, 1927, he married Mary Hastings Bickford; they had four children (including Lowell P. Weicker, Jr. , who later became a United States senator and the governor of Connecticut). They were divorced in 1951, and on June 6, 1953, he married Beverly Kraft Topping. They were divorced in 1965, and he married Antoinette Francois Littell.
