THE TEACHING OF PHARMACY IN OHIO*
by B. V. CHRISTENSEN
Dean of the College of Pharmacy, Ohio
State University
The early development of pharmacy in
the United States went
hand in hand with the development of
medical practice. As a
matter of fact, up until about 1800
there was no appreciable
separation between medicine and
pharmacy, and in many instances
both medicine and pharmacy were
practiced by the same individuals.
Not infrequently neither medicine nor
pharmacy was even in the
hands of medical practitioners. Men and
women of other pro-
fessions or of no profession served as
pharmacists and physicians.
As always in primitive and pioneer
societies, these professions were
practiced in the homes and to a large
extent by the housewives. The
housewives of the early immigrants
brought their peculiar kind of
knowledge and practices over from their
native countries. Books
giving advice for self-treatment and
for the cultivation of herbs
providing the drugs to be used were
most cherished by the early
immigrants. At a later period some
evidences of separation of
pharmacy and medicine appeared and also
the practice of both
of these professions became
increasingly restricted to more or less
qualified individuals. It was during
this period that the apothecary
shop appeared.
The early apothecary shop was usually
the dispensary of a phy-
sician. Frequently a physician, in
order to enlarge on his otherwise
meager income, included the sale of
sundry articles like spices,
tea, and medicinal herbs. According to
Kremers and Urdang's
History of Pharmacy, Zabdiel Boylston (who was the first medical
practitioner in America to employ
inoculation against smallpox)
advertised in the Boston Gazette in
1723 and 1724 "good cassia
fistula, good saffron, and good jalap
root, juniper berries, and other
druggs and medicines at reasonable
rates." Thomas Ashton offered
*Read before the Committee on Medical
History and Archives of the Ohio State
Archaeological and Historical Society at
its annual meeting, held at the Ohio State
Museum, April 5, 1952.
352
The Teaching of Pharmacy in
Ohio 353
in 1732 "all sorts of drugs and
medicines" and a list of spices, tea,
coffee, and so forth, calling himself
"apothecary and grocer."
The first teacher of pharmacy was Dr.
John Morgan. John
Morgan, who was an apprentice of Dr.
John Redman, was appointed
as the second apothecary at the
Pennsylvania Hospital, May 9,
1755, and served until the following
spring, when he resigned in
order to complete his medical
education. Ten years later, and after
five years of study and experience in
London, Edinburgh, and Italy,
he gave an introductory lecture at the
inauguration of a medical
school in connection with a college in
Philadelphia in which he
recommended the complete separation of
pharmacy and surgery
from the practice of medicine. Dr.
Morgan was instrumental in
founding the first school of medicine
as a part of the College of
Philadelphia (which later became the
University of Pennsylvania).
It was in this medical school that Dr.
Morgan taught pharmacy,
pharmaceutical chemistry, and materia
medica to medical students
as a part of the medical curriculum.
Gradually it became recognized
that the teaching of pharmacy as a
basis for pharmaceutical practice
should be separated from the practice
of pharmacy, and professional
education in pharmacy became
established in America.
These few words by way of historical
introduction indicate that
during the history of the American
colonies and the early history
of the United States there were few, if
any, restrictions imposed
on the practitioners of pharmacy and
medicine, and that the practice
of these professions was unorganized.
Early restrictions and regulations
governing the practice of
pharmacy grew out of individual pride
and initiative of druggists
with training, ability, and foresight
who had visions of raising
pharmacy to the status of a profession.
It is interesting to note that
it was pressure, and in most cases
pressure from the outside, which
forced pharmacists to form their first
associations. In a number of
instances this pressure came from the
medical profession. For
example, the first known association of
pharmacists in America--
the Philadelphia College of
Apothecaries--began as a protective
movement to prevent the University of
Pennsylvania from obtain-
ing control over the education of
pharmacists (March 13, 1821).
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Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly
(It is to be noted here that the term
"college" is an illustration
of the influence of European pharmacy.
For example, the London
College of Apothecaries was an
association of apothecaries in the
City of London; the French College de
Pharmacie was likewise an
association of pharmacists in
France--the term "college" meaning
an association and not an educational
institution as we now under-
stand this term.)
The organization of the Massachusetts
College of Pharmacy in
1823 resulted from an attempt by the
Massachusetts Medical Society
to obtain control of the education and
licensing of pharmacists in
that state through legislative
enactment. These colleges are men-
tioned because it was in these associations
that the concept of
professional and scientific pharmacy
was engendered and the need
for organized education in pharmacy was
realized. However, the
influence of these associations was
local and limited primarily
to the boundaries of the cities in
which they were formed. These
limitations were recognized and it was
therefore for the purpose of
promoting this concept on a national
scale that the American
Pharmaceutical Association was formed.
This organization was
formed by a small group of pharmacists
at a meeting in Philadelphia,
October 7, 1852; therefore, it is to be
noted that this year (1952)
is the centennial year of this
association. The American Pharma-
ceutical Association is mentioned
because of the pronounced in-
fluence of this organization on the
development of pharmacy and
pharmaceutical education in the several
states, including Ohio. This
association was the first national
organization in pharmacy and
was for some time the only one. Its
organization was effected by
the combined influence of the best
talents of the profession, and
it has continued through the years to
guide, promote, and defend
all that enhances the best interests of
American pharmacy.
The American Pharmaceutical Association
was the inspirational
force which stimulated the formation of
state associations. In a
number of instances the organization of
a state association followed
closely a meeting of the A.Ph.A. in
that area. The early rosters of
officials of state organizations
contain the names of active members
of the A.Ph.A. During the period from
1867 to 1890, a total of
The Teaching of
Pharmacy in Ohio 355
forty-one state
associations were formed in rapid succession; twenty-
four were formed in
the decade 1880-90. It is to be noted that
the first state to
form a pharmaceutical association was Maine--on
July 23, 1867. Those
of interest in this area included:
Michigan 1874
Ohio 1879
Wisconsin 1880
Iowa 1880
Illinois 1880
Indiana 1882
Minnesota 1883
The enactment of
state pharmacy laws closely followed the or-
ganization of state
pharmaceutical associations. Again the A.Ph.A.
was the compelling
force behind the enactment of these laws.
During the period
above referred to, in nearly all of the states in
which pharmaceutical
organizations were formed, enactment of
state pharmacy laws
closely followed. For example, state pharmacy
laws were enacted in
the states listed above as follows:
Iowa 1880
Illinois 1881
Wisconsin 1882
Ohio 1884
Michigan 1885
Minnesota 1885
Indiana 1899
This background has
been given in order to lead up to a very
fundamental and basic
principle which has not only greatly in-
fluenced
pharmaceutical education in Ohio but likewise influenced
education in other
states and even in other professions. The
pharmacy laws above
referred to provided for the certification of
pharmacists for
practice on the basis of examinations administered
by a state board of
examiners. These examinations brought forcibly
to the attention of
the candidates for certification the necessity
for a systematic
education in the principles of pharmacy. There-
fore the implication
became apparent that since the states had
356 Ohio State Archaeological and
Historical Quarterly
assumed the
prerogative of regulating the practice of pharmacy
by setting up
educational standards for registration by certification,
it became incumbent
on the states to provide the education necessary
to pass these
examinations. Apparently on the basis of this prin-
ciple a number of
states assumed the obligation of public support
of education in
pharmacy by establishing departments of pharmacy
in state-supported
colleges or universities. As a matter of fact,
during the period
1867 to 1890 seven states established state-
supported departments
of pharmacy and others followed in rapid
succession. For
example, again referring to some of the states
previously mentioned,
we find that the teaching of pharmacy was
introduced in
state-supported universities as follows:
Wisconsin 1883
Purdue (Indiana) 1884
Iowa 1885
Ohio 1885
Minnesota 1892
Organized instruction
in pharmacy in the state of Ohio was first
offered by the
Cincinnati College of Pharmacy. This college was
granted a charter to
operate by an act of the Ohio legislature,
March 23, 1850. This
college is still in operation, but its location
in the city has been
changed several times. In 1886 the college
acquired its own
building at 614 West Court Street and since 1928
it has been located
at 423 West 8th Street. In 1945 an affiliation
was effected with the
University of Cincinnati, and at the present
time negotiations for
complete transfer to become an integral part
of the University of
Cincinnati are in progress. During the early
period of its
existence the educational program was similar to that
offered by other
independent colleges of pharmacy such as Phila-
delphia,
Massachusetts, and New York. It was operated and
governed by an
association of the pharmacists of the city of
Cincinnati which was
organized for both trade and professional
reasons. The
instruction usually covered a period of about twenty
weeks during the
winter season and consisted primarily of lectures
given in some cases
by practicing pharmacists and in other cases
The Teaching of Pharmacy in
Ohio 357
by physicians. Instruction was offered
in chemistry, pharmacy, and
materia medica. The students were
apprentices in the pharmacies
of the city and worked during the day
and attended the lectures
in the evening. There was no formal
laboratory instruction. The
students were expected to acquire their
practical training in the
pharmacies in which they were employed.
Usually at the end of a
course of lectures an examination was
required. After satisfactory
completion of a specified period of
apprenticeship and courses of
lectures covering the same period, the
apprentices became qualified
pharmacists.
While the Cincinnati College of
Pharmacy was actually founded
by the pharmacists of the city of
Cincinnati, its organization was
indirectly influenced by the sister
profession of medicine. According
to The Graduate, a publication
issued by the college, "the meeting
of the American Medical Association in
Cincinnati in the year 1850
was so fraught with the high ideals of
medicine that the founders
of the Cincinnati College of Pharmacy
were stimulated to greater
effort in the accomplishment of their
plans." The leading personality
among the group of men who founded the
college was William B.
Chapman, a graduate of the Philadelphia
College of Pharmacy as
well as a graduate of the Ohio Medical
College.
The Cleveland School of Pharmacy was
organized in 1882.
Lectures were given in the evening,
usually three times a week
on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, from
about October until
the end of February. The instruction
was designed to answer the
needs of apothecary apprentices.
Apprentices must have attended
two courses of the lectures delivered
in the college or one course
in the college and one other in some
other reputable college of
pharmacy. They must also have served
out four years with a person
or persons qualified to conduct the
drug or apothecary business.
A thesis was also required, and after
having passed the examinations,
the student received his diploma. The
Cleveland School of Pharmacy
was affiliated with Western Reserve
University in 1908 and became
a part of Western Reserve University in
1918. It was discontinued
in 1949.
The department of pharmacy in Ohio Northern
University was
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Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly
established in 1884. It was noted above
that the first pharmacy laws
were passed in Ohio in 1884. These laws
required that all pharmacists
must satisfactorily pass a state
examination conducted by a state
board of examiners in order to become
registered and legally cer-
tified to practice this profession. It
was to meet this demand for
trained and qualified pharmacists that
the department of pharmacy
at Ohio Northern University was formed.
Later this department
was organized as the college of
pharmacy, which is still in operation.
Regularly organized instruction in
pharmacy in Ohio State
University was begun in the autumn of
1885. While some voluntary
instruction had been offered in the
university from 1878, it was
not until the enactment of the
registration law that the university
seriously considered offering regular
instruction and provided the
necessary facilities. At this time, in
1884, both President Scott and
the secretary of the board of trustees
in their reports to the governor
of the state emphasized the necessity
and importance of giving
instruction in pharmacy. The secretary
of the board of trustees
in his report made mention of the
frequent suggestions of Dr.
Norton, professor of chemistry,
relative to the establishment of
pharmacy instruction. The following
statement is taken from the
minutes of the board of trustees:
"After careful consideration of
the subject by the Trustees and the
University Faculty and of the
fact that almost all the branches
necessary to be taught in such a
school were already taught at the
University, it was decided to
establish such a school."
President Scott in his report to the trustees
the same year set forth the ideals
which prompted the organization
of the school by this statement:
"In order that the University may
fulfill its obligations to supply every
reasonable demand for the
means of higher instruction, the School
of Pharmacy begins the
work of the first year and the way now
seems open to offer much
more than was first contemplated.
Before the opening of the next
year I think we may offer a full course
of study to be completed
with a degree." As a result of the
foregoing action the opening
session of the university in the autumn
of 1885 found the newly
created school ready to inaugurate
instruction in the school of
pharmacy. In establishing the school of
pharmacy in the university
The Teaching of Pharmacy in
Ohio 359
it appears that those responsible for
the introduction of instruction
in pharmacy were anxious that the work
should be founded on
sound educational principles. It is to
be observed that the curriculum
was based on three years of study in
which the professional work
was built around certain basic
subjects. It is to be noted also that
high school graduation was a
prerequisite for admission--a require-
ment made by few schools at that time.
In 1895 the school was made
a "college." In 1900 the
three-year course was abolished and a two-
year course leading to a certificate
and also a four-year course
leading to a degree-bachelor of science
in pharmacy-were offered.
The innovation of offering a four-year
course with a degree of
bachelor of science placed instruction
in pharmacy on a par with
that in other departments of the
university. This was indeed a long
forward step. It was not, however,
achieved without opposition.
Like all ideas which are considerably
ahead of the times, it was
seriously questioned and had to run the
gauntlet of ridicule before
recognition could come. However, here
and there it was recognized
and imitated and finally it was
generally adopted.
The first school, not only in the state
but in the United States,
to require a minimum four-year
curriculum was Ohio State Uni-
versity. The minimum four-year course
was inaugurated with the
freshman class entering in the autumn
of 1925. These students were
for the first time in the history of
pharmacy faced with four years
of study in order to merit their
pharmacy degrees.
With the inauguration of the minimum
four-year curriculum the
range of instruction in pharmacy was
considerably extended. It
has been noted above that the earlier
courses consisted primarily of
instruction in chemistry, pharmacy, and
materia medica. In the
earlier stages of development of the
curricula, instruction in these
areas was expanded. However, in the
later stages instruction in
professional subjects was not only
expanded, but instruction in
the basic sciences and some cultural
subjects was included. It is
also to be particularly noted that the
science courses were accom-
panied by laboratory instruction.
Laboratory instruction is the out-
standing contribution to pharmacy made
by the departments of
pharmacy in state-supported colleges
and universities.
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Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly
Upon completion of the two-year
curriculum it was customary
to award a certificate of
"Graduate in Pharmacy" (Ph.G.) and for
the completion of the three-year
curriculum a certificate of
"Pharmaceutical Chemist"
(Ph.C.). As has been stated above, the
degree of bachelor of science in
pharmacy was granted upon com-
pletion of a four-year curriculum.
The history of the teaching of pharmacy
in Ohio would not be
complete without mention of the influence
of the American Asso-
ciation of Colleges of Pharmacy on the
educational program. It
was through the influence of this
association that a minimum two-
year curriculum was adopted for all
member colleges in 1922. In
1927 the three-year curriculum was
adopted, and in 1932 a minimum
four-year curriculum was adopted by
this association to become
operative in 1936. With the exception
of Ohio State University,
which voluntarily set up a minimum
four-year curriculum effective
in 1925, the other colleges in the
state followed the regulations of
the American Association of Colleges of
Pharmacy in expansion
of the curriculum. It was not until
1936, therefore, that all recog-
nized colleges in the state were
operating on a minimum four-year
curriculum.
In 1937 the college of pharmacy of Ohio
State University adopted
a more flexible curriculum than had
been previously in operation.
This consisted of two optional
curricula, one of which was designed
as a practical course of instruction
intended primarily to train
students for practice in the pharmacies
of the state. The other was
more scientific in nature and was
designed to give students a more
thorough scientific foundation as a
basis for the more technical
and scientific requirements of the
profession. Both of these, however,
met the educational requirements for
certification as registered
pharmacist.
In the fall of 1947 the college of
pharmacy of Ohio State Uni-
versity introduced the first five-year
course in pharmacy in the
United States. This consists of two
years of pre-professional training
as a prerequisite for a three-year
professional curriculum. This ex-
tended curriculum offers greater
opportunity for students to choose
electives preparing them for practice
in specialized phases of
The Teaching of Pharmacy in
Ohio 361
pharmacy. It likewise provides greater
opportunity for obtaining
a more extended general education as a
foundation for pharmacy.
The Scio College of Pharmacy was
organized in 1887 as a
department of pharmacy in Scio College.
J. H. Beal was founder
and principal of the department. He had
acquired his pharmaceutical
education by apprenticeship in
Uhrichsville and Akron and study
at the University of Michigan. He came
to Scio in 1886 as pro-
fessor of natural sciences and
organized the department of pharmacy
two years later. It was incorporated as
the Scio College of Pharmacy
in 1904 and four years later was sold
outright to the Pittsburgh
College of Pharmacy. Certificates of
graduate in pharmacy and
pharmaceutical chemist were issued by
this institution. Classes met
five full days each week from early
September to the middle of
June. Candidates for the certificate of
graduate in pharmacy spent
one year in full-time residence and
then one year in actual practice.
At the end of the second year, if
students had satisfactorily com-
pleted the required practical
experience and passed the state board
examination, they were awarded their
certificates at the college
commencement. Candidates for the Ph.C.
certificate spent the
second year also in residence. The work
of the second year was
largely in the field of pharmaceutical
chemistry and included drug
assay and metallurgical analysis. From
1906 to 1908 a third year
was also offered leading to the degree
of doctor of pharmacy. For
this curriculum the one leading to the
Ph.C. degree was mandatory
as preparation. It was stated that the
curriculum was modeled
closely upon instruction offered at
Michigan and Ohio State.
Instruction in pharmacy was introduced
in the University of
Toledo in 1931. Pharmacy was included
as a division in the college
of arts and sciences until January
1938, when it was separated
and established as the college of
pharmacy. This institution differs
from others in Ohio in that it is a
municipal university operated
and maintained by the city of Toledo.
It is intended primarily to
serve the higher educational needs of
the city both from the stand-
point of training of students and from
the standpoint of the needs
of the city's business and industrial
concerns for trained personnel.
The educational program of the college
of pharmacy conforms to
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Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly
the general pattern of colleges which
are an integral part of a
university.
The Ohio State University College of
Pharmacy was the first in
the state to offer graduate
instruction. A program leading to the
degree of master of science in pharmacy
was inaugurated in 1941,
and two years later graduate programs
leading to the Ph.D. degree
with major in all of the divisions of
pharmacy-pharmacognosy,
pharmacology, pharmaceutical chemistry,
and pharmacy-were
inaugurated. Admission to these
graduate programs is based on
graduation with high standing from a
recognized college of
pharmacy offering a program of
instruction equivalent to that offered
at Ohio State University.
The above review of the teaching of
pharmacy in the state of
Ohio represents a period of development
covering a century, namely,
from the establishment of the
Cincinnati College of Pharmacy in
1850 up to the present time. The
development of the teaching of
pharmacy in the state of Ohio is
typical of the development of
pharmaceutical education in the United
States. It represents all
stages-beginning with the establishment
of local associations which
were designated as colleges of pharmacy
and which gradually took
over the education of the pharmacist;
the organization of recognized
education resulting largely from the
pressure of state pharmacy
laws which required examination for
certification of pharmacists;
the organization of the state-supported
institutions of pharmacy due
to the regulation of the practice of
pharmacy under state authority-
up to the present period in which the
curricula of colleges of
pharmacy are being extended to meet the
modern advances in the
practice of the profession as well as
to keep step with progress in
the related sciences.
It is to be observed also from this
review that education in
pharmacy has advanced with the needs
and requirements of the
practice of the profession. In the
period around 1850 the stock of
the apothecary shop consisted primarily
of medicinal herbs, some
chemicals, and some preparations made
by the pharmacists them-
selves from the crude products. During
the period covered by this
review the drug store has progressed
through various stages up to
The Teaching of Pharmacy in
Ohio 363
the present time, in which we have the
modern drug store which
is an enormous establishment-in some
instances carrying in stock
some 15,000 to 20,000 different items,
including modern drugs
synthesized from chemicals, the
antibiotics, the hormones, the
vitamins, and a large number of other
items of recent origin. There
is probably just as wide a gap in the
pharmacy of today as com-
pared with that of 1850 as there is in
the pharmacy college of
today and that of 1850. Again it is to
be noted that early in 1850
instruction was devoted primarily to
chemistry, pharmacy, and
materia medica. It is now expanded and
diversified to the point
where instruction is offered in general
educational subjects, basic
and technical sciences, and the several
divisions of the professional
curriculum, namely, pharmacognosy,
pharmacology, pharmacy,
pharmaceutical chemistry, and pharmacy
administration. Each of
these areas is rather clearly defined.
For example, pharmacognosy
deals with the origin and sources of
drugs and medicines, such as
plants, animals, inorganic and organic
chemicals, and more re-
cently the bacterial products, or
antibiotics.
Pharmacology deals with the action of
drugs on the cells and
tissues of the human body. It is this
phase of pharmacy which pro-
vides the fundamental and broad
understanding of the quality and
properties of drugs and why and how
they are used in the treatment
of the sick. The subdivision which we
designate as pharmacy deals
primarily with the preparation of these
various drug materials into
forms which are adapted for
administration to the sick. It involves
the study of processes and procedures
which are included in the
preparation of pills, tinctures,
tablets, emulsions, and so forth. I
believe pharmaceutical chemistry is
self-explanatory and needs no
further elaboration. Pharmacy
administration has to do primarily
with the business aspects of pharmacy.
In this area are included
the business subjects, such as pharmacy
management, laws of
pharmacy, salesmanship, business forms,
and so on.
Again, it may be of interest to point
out that whereas the teachers
in the colleges of 1850 were mostly
practicing pharmacists or in
some instances practicing physicians
(and teaching was a sideline
and a minor issue), today the teachers
in the colleges of pharmacy
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Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly
are primarily men and women who not
only have graduated from
a college of pharmacy but have also had
practical experience and
have spent several additional years in
graduate study in order to
prepare themselves properly for this
important work. The job of
teaching is now a full-time occupation,
and quite uniformly, teachers
are restricted with regard to outside
activities.
It should be pointed out further that
the status of modern
pharmaceutical education reflects the
importance and significance of
pharmacy in our modern economic and
professional life. The fact
that most states are now supporting a
college of pharmacy with
modern and well-equipped buildings for
carrying on a high level
of instruction-with faculties
consisting of highly trained and ex-
perienced individuals-all of these
indicate that pharmacy today
is regarded as an economic necessity
and a major factor in the
health and welfare of a community.