Advil is a brand name for the drug ibuprofen, which was invented by Dr. Stewart Adams, a British pharmacologist. Dr. Adams worked for the Boots Company in the 1950s and 1960s, where he conducted research on pain relief. He discovered ibuprofen in 1961 after testing various compounds on himself, including the drug that would become Advil [2].

Ibuprofen was first patented in the United Kingdom in 1961 and was approved for use in the United States in 1974. The drug is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) that is used to treat pain, fever, and inflammation [1].

The brand name Advil was introduced by the pharmaceutical company Whitehall-Robins, which is now part of Pfizer. The drug was first sold over-the-counter in the United States in 1984 and has since become one of the most popular pain relievers in the world [2].

In summary, Dr. Stewart Adams invented ibuprofen while working for the Boots Company in the 1960s, and the drug was first patented in 1961. Advil is a brand name for ibuprofen, which was introduced by Whitehall-Robins in 1984 and has since become a widely used pain reliever [1][2][3].

Sources:
[1] https://www.drugpatentwatch.com/p/tradename/ADVIL
[2] https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/inventor-ibuprofen-tested-drug-his-own-hangover-180975088/
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibuprofen