Formation

The Umbrella Corporation was founded in 1968 by Lord Ozwell E. Spencer, Sir Edward Ashford and Dr. James Marcus at the corporation's Raccoon City facilities while Spencer maintained control over the company for the next thirty years. Soon Umbrella had multiple research facilities and various research being done on various viruses - G-virus, T-virus, Nemesis parasite, etc. - but it was the Arklay Research Facility that became the most prominent together with nearby Arklayonnel

The Umbrella Corporation was founded in 1968 by Lord Ozwell E. Spencer, Sir Edward Ashford and Dr. James Marcus at the corporation's Raccoon City facilities while Spencer maintained control over the company for the next thirty years. Soon Umbrella had multiple research facilities and various research being done on various viruses - G-virus, T-virus, Nemesis parasite, etc. - but it was the Arklay Research Facility that became the most prominent together with nearby Arklayonnel and also contained a cutting-edge laboratory installation. However, it was noted by researcher Albert Wesker that the military potential of the T-virus would never make up for the cost of research and production, and that the Arklay facility seemed to be deliberately placed in an area where any leak would cause an uncontrollable outbreak.

Spencer eventually grew distrustful of Marcus, as he was worried that the scientist, who had recently started to make a comeback with his research project, might endanger his position as the Umbrella Corporation's key figure. Spencer arranged for his assassination by Wesker and William Birkin in 1988. Birkin took over Marcus' research soon after and was credited as the inventor of the T-virus.