Charles Esau Eastick MBE FCS (29 August 1860 – 8 October 1947) was a British chemist, noted for formulating golden syrup and patenting special methods for making brewers' saccharum and inverted sugar.
[1] When the family moved to Lancashire, he followed his elder brother John Joseph in the systematic study of science at Owen's College, followed by the Royal School of Mines.
[2][3][4] In 1881 Abram Lyle together with his three sons bought two wharves in Plaistow, East London to construct a refinery for making syrup.
[2][3][4][6] Initially the analysis of raw sugar was established for the purpose of establishing price and duty payments, however in 1883 tough times importing cargoes of sugar bring production to a near-halt, so Charles and John Joseph experimented with the refining process, of the bitter molasses-brown treacle-hitherto a waste by-product of sugar refining-into an eminently palatable syrup with the viscosity, hue and sweetness of honey,[7] leading to Charles formulating the first version of the world's oldest branded product, golden syrup.
[2][3][4][6][8][9] During the Great War Charles assumed a national role, being responsible for administering the UK wartime sugar rationing quotas, for which he was awarded an MBE in the 1918 Birthday Honours.