Dr. Raymond Sackler

Dr. Raymond Sackler, a noted philanthropist, physician, entrepreneur, business leader, husband, father, grandfather, and friend to many died July 17, at age 97 in Greenwich, Connecticut after a brief illness. He co-founded the pharmaceutical company Purdue Pharma.

For more than 50 years, Dr. Sackler and his wife contributed directly and through the Raymond and Beverly Sackler Foundations to areas spanning biomedical research, the physical and engineering sciences, and the arts.

Dr. Sackler and his brothers, Arthur and Mortimer Sackler, both also deceased, represented one of the nation's most renowned philanthropic families, associated with the Sackler Wing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in New York City, the Freer and Sackler Gallery at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. as well as notable cultural, scientific, and educational institutions globally.

Dr. Sackler began his education at Erasmus High School in Brooklyn and attended New York University, where he received his B.S. in 1938. He then pursued his medical degree, beginning at Anderson College of Medicine in Glasgow, Scotland, where he volunteered in the U.K. home guard as a plane spotter in the first year of World War II. He completed his studies at the Middlesex University School of Medicine, on the site of current day Brandeis University, where in 1944 he received an M.D. He was certified in psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.

Early in his career, Dr. Sackler explored and participated in research at the frontiers of psychopharmacology--the field which has transformed the treatment of most psychiatric illness recognized today.

Dr. Sackler and his brother Dr. Mortimer, purchased Purdue in 1952 and moved its offices to Christopher Street in New York City. They began a pharmaceutical business that has continued to operate for 65 years, in the United States and globally developing and marketing medicines, healthcare products and antiseptics for pain management, respiratory, gastrointestinal and other conditions.

Certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in 1957, and a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, Dr. Sackler, with his two brothers, Arthur and Mortimer, were co-founders of the Creedmoor Institute for Psychobiological Studies in New York City, where they engaged in research in the biology of biology of schizophrenia and psychosis.

Among the many honors Dr. Sackler earned are honorary degrees from Tel Aviv University, The University of Connecticut and Tufts University. He received knighthoods in three European Countries. He was awarded The Honorary Knight Commander, Order of the British Empire, (KBE); Officier de la Légion d'honneur (France), and was an Officer in the Order of Orange Nassau (The Netherlands).

Dr. Sackler counted among his friends and associated with a host of scientific and academic experts, including Nobel Laureates Joshua Lederberg, Emilio G. Segrè, Julius Axelrod, Phillip Sharp, Martin Chalfie, Sir Keith Peters, and Sir Martin Rees.

He is survived by his wife Beverly, and their two sons.

The family has asked that anyone wishing to make memorial contributions consider contributing in his name to Greenwich Hospital, 5 Perryridge Road, Greenwich, CT 06830.