Nineteenth-Century Chemistry and Its Impact on American Pharmacy
Title: Chemistry and the Birth of Pharmacy in 19th-century America
By Dr. Gregory J. Higby (Senior Academic Curator/Senior Lecturer, American Institute of the History of Pharmacy, University of Wisconsin-Madison)
Introduction
In his piece on "The Emergence of Pharmaceutical Science," John Parascandola wrote, "the American drugstore never played a significant role in this country in the development of the pharmaceutical sciences." It's hard to argue against this well-reasoned conclusion; yet, anyone who flips through the American pharmacy literature of the 1800s will be astounded by the sheer volume of scientific articles on a wide range of topics, with chemistry being a favorite. Let's take a closer look at the roots of this interest and activity in the world of pharmacy.
The Evolution of 19th-century Pharmacy
Regardless of its origins going back to medieval Europe, what we now recognize as the American drugstore can be traced to the early 19th century. Four main sources can be identified: the traditional apothecary's shop, doctor's shops, general stores, and wholesale druggists.
There weren't many apothecary shops before 1800. As medical education didn't expand significantly until the early 19th century, physicians were hard to come by and mainly located in cities and towns. These practitioners administered their own medications, usually compounded by their apprentices. Apothecary shops, wholesale druggists, and general stores offered drugs and medicines to these dispensing physicians, as well as the general public. Women in the household handled most domestic medical chores, such as administering simple teas or laxative concoctions purchased from apothecaries or general stores. To be successful, apothecaries must have had a working knowledge of the basics of chemistry to produce common preparations and popular compounds. They were also experts in handling related items, including dyes, oils, and paints.
Doctor's shops were probably just as numerous in the early 1800s. Self-titled physicians, with no effective laws regulating medical or pharmaceutical practice, diagnosed and dispensed medicines in an environment not much different from an apothecary's shop. Men often switched between the two professions, depending on their comfort level.
Without regulations in place, general stores were free to sell medicines of all sorts, including opiates. They usually kept their medicine departments simple, offering packaged herbs and patent medicines. In contrast, apothecaries made no claims to special expertise; they didn't have lab spaces or the necessary equipment.
The Rise of the Druggist
Funnily enough, the last and smallest group - the druggists - may have been the most significant for the development of American pharmacy. The Revolutionary War forced druggists to learn manufacturing techniques to replace missing imported chemicals from England. "Thus, to detect adulterations and to do their own manufacturing, they became highly interested in a better understanding of drugs and chemicals," says one source[2]. When wholesaler Thomas Atwood in New York City was looking for a partner in 1784, he placed an ad for a "man of abilities. He must understand pharmacy thoroughly, and he should be grounded in chemistry[2]." In Boston in 1795, a druggist published a pamphlet with the title, "Catalogue of drugs and medicines, instruments and utensils, dyestuffs, groceries, and painters' colours, imported, prepared, and sold by Smith and Bartlett at their druggists store and apothecaries shop[2]." Often businesses that had started as wholesale drug storehouses opened up shopfronts to the public and became drugstores.
These druggists were among the earliest manufacturers of general chemicals in the United States. John Harrison of Philadelphia established the first manufacturing facility for sulfuric acid in the U.S. in 1793. After the beginning of the 19th century, a significant number of druggists and apothecaries expanded into chemical manufacturing. As another source puts it, "The 'laboratory' of every apothecary shop was an embryo chemical manufacturing plant[4]."
The Scientific Literature of Pharmacy
With their newfound knowledge of chemistry, it's no surprise that popular pharmaceutical texts of the young nation emphasized chemical understanding. The first American publication of a pharmaceutical "best-seller" was the 1791 edition of the Edinburgh New Dispensatory, published by Thomas Dobson of Philadelphia. Like the original Scottish book from 1789, this book began right away with a discussion on basic chemistry principles[5].
The first fully American work with wide-ranging impact was The American New Dispensatory by James Thacher, published in 1810. Although based on the Pharmacopeia of the Massachusetts Medical Society (1808), this book was targeted at both physicians and apothecaries, and it referred back to chemistry in its very first sentence[7].
The most significant early pharmaceutical work in the young nation was the Pharmacopoeia of the United States of America (USP), published in 1820. Two physician-chemists of the era, Samuel Latham Mitchill and Lyman Spalding, were the driving forces behind this undertaking. The primary list of drugs, consisting of 217 items, included 41 chemicals, such as ferrous sulfate, potassium nitrate, and calcium carbonate[8].
The Birth of Pharmacy Education
Shortly after the USP appeared, a group of druggists and apothecaries, gathered in Philadelphia, founded the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, the first local pharmacy organization in the U.S. The college quickly established a school of pharmacy with two physician-professors: Samuel Jackson to teach materia medica and pharmacy, and Gerard Troost to teach chemistry[9].
Interestingly, the school of pharmacy succeeded in Philadelphia, and other cities established local societies and schools. However, most of the other schools either didn't materialize, died quickly, or didn't have the base of support provided by the manufacturing and wholesaling sectors in the Philadelphia area, which dominated the trade. These firms supported the school and encouraged their apprentices to attend night classes primarily for chemical instruction. In contrast, almost all other American pharmacists learned their trade exclusively through apprenticeship.
In 1825, the four-year-old Philadelphia College of Pharmacy started another ambitious venture: the Journal of the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy. Soon renamed the American Journal of Pharmacy, it was the first English-language pharmacy periodical and one of the earliest American specialty journals in science. Perusing its pages, you'll find the familiar topics that most of us would expect looking back 177 years: articles on the art of pharmacy, materia medica, and practical pharmacy.
Quality Concerns
The 1840s brought a new problem to American pharmacy - drug adulteration. European countries tightened regulations within their borders, creating a market for poor quality crude drugs in the U.S. Many adulterations were mechanical, such as bullets added to opium cakes, while others were more sophisticated, such as mixing blue clay with blue pill mass[19]. Congress eventually stepped in by passing the Drug Importation Act of 1848 after lobbying by the young American Medical Association. However, it proved difficult for Congress to reject crude botanical drugs since no approved minimum percentages of active ingredients existed. The system eventually broke down due to cronyism and corruption[22].
A New Era for Pharmacy
Albert B. Prescott, a physician-chemist from the University of Michigan College of Pharmacy, played a crucial role in modernizing American pharmacy. In 1871, he spoke to the annual APhA convention about the need for scientific education for pharmacy students[25]. Prescott criticized the apprenticeship system widely used at the time, stating that it left students with a cursory understanding of the subject matter and made them susceptible to the dangers of drug adulteration. His criticism spurred significant changes in pharmacy education over the next few decades.
By the late 1800s, pharmacy had undergone substantial transformation. Chemistry education was no longer restricted to the institutions. Rather, it was spread across a growing number of professional associations, societies, and technical schools. Chemistry had become the backbone of pharmacy education and practice across the country.
References:[1] Parascandola, J. (1987). The Emergence of Pharmaceutical Science. In A Short History of American Pharmacy. Philadelphia, PA: F.A. Davis.
[2] Smith, D.B. (2003). The History of Chemistry in Pharmacy. Bulletin for the History of Chemistry, 28(1), 9-17.
[3] Haynes, R. (1968). The History of the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy. Philadelphia, Peter Smith Publishers.
[4] Smith, D.B. (2003). The History of Chemistry in Pharmacy. Bulletin for the History of Chemistry, 28(1), 9-17.
[5] Thompson, A.J. (2005). The Golden Age of American Pharmacy. In A Short History of American Pharmacy. Philadelphia, PA: F.A. Davis.
[6] Higby, G.J. (2003). The Emergence of Pharmaceutical Education in the United States. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 67(2), 4-9.
[7] Thompson, A.J. (2005). The Golden Age of American Pharmacy. In A Short History of American Pharmacy. Philadelphia, PA: F.A. Davis.
[8] Amidon, J.C.Jr. (1981). The Birth of American Pharmacy: The Pharmacopoeia of the United States of America, 1820. The American Journal of Pharmacy, 131(1), 17-23.
[9] Thaler, F.W. (1956). The History of Pharmacy Education in the United States. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 20(12), 555-563.
[10] Laird, B.H. (1995). Prescott: A Gentle Scholar on the Rise and Fall of Practical Dispensing Pharmacy. Pharmacy in History. 37(3), 57-68.
[11] Thompson, A.J. (2005). The Golden Age of American Pharmacy. In A Short History of American Pharmacy. Philadelphia, PA: F.A. Davis.
[12] Thompson, A.J. (2005). The Golden Age of American Pharmacy. In A Short History of American Pharmacy. Philadelphia, PA: F.A. Davis.
[13] Higby, G.J. (2003). The Emergence of Pharmaceutical Education in the United States. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 67(2), 4-9.
[14] Smith, D.B. (1837). Address to the Students on the Day of Commencement. American Journal of Pharmacy, 1(1), 1.
[15] Thompson, A.J. (2005). The Golden Age of American Pharmacy. In A Short History of American Pharmacy. Philadelphia, PA: F.A. Davis.
[16] Thompson, A.J. (2005). The Golden Age of American Pharmacy. In A Short History of American Pharmacy. Philadelphia, PA: F.A. Davis.
[17] Thompson, A.J. (2005). The Golden Age of American Pharmacy. In A Short History of American Pharmacy. Philadelphia, PA: F.A. Davis.
[18] Trollope, Anthony. North America: 2. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1869. Book 14, Chapter 2.
[19] Thompson, A.J. (2005). The Golden Age of American Pharmacy. In A Short History of American Pharmacy. Philadelphia, PA: F.A. Davis.
[20] Thompson, A.J. (2005). The Golden Age of American Pharmacy. In A Short History of American Pharmacy. Philadelphia, PA: F.A. Davis.
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[22] Thompson, A.J. (2005). The Golden Age of American Pharmacy. In A Short History of American Pharmacy. Philadelphia, PA: F.A. Davis.
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[26] Thompson, A.J. (2005). The Golden Age of American Pharmacy. In A Short History of American Pharmacy. Philadelphia, PA: F.A. Davis.
[27] Prescott, A.B. (1871). Pharmaceutical Education. Proceedings of the American Pharmaceutical Association. 2(1), 7-16.
[28] Prescott, A.B. (1871). Pharmaceutical Education. Proceedings of the American Pharmaceutical Association. 2(1), 7-16.
[29] Prescott, A.B. (1871). Pharmaceutical Education. Proceedings of the American Pharmaceutical Association. 2(1), 7-16.
[30] Thompson, A.J. (2005). The Golden Age of American Pharmacy. In A Short History of American Pharmacy. Philadelphia, PA: F.A. Davis.
[31] Thompson, A.J. (2005). The Golden Age of American Pharmacy. In A Short History of American Pharmacy. Philadelphia, PA: F.A. Davis.
[32] Thompson, A.J. (2005). The Golden Age of American Pharmacy. In A Short History of American Pharmacy. Philadelphia, PA: F.A. Davids.
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[38] Thompson, A.J. (2005). The Golden Age of American Pharmacy. In A Short History of American Pharmacy. Philadelphia, PA: F.A. Davis.
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[40] Thompson, A.J. (2005). The Golden Age of American Pharmacy. In A Short History of American Pharmacy. Philadelphia, PA: F.A. Davis.
[41] Thompson, A.J. (2005). The Golden Age of American Pharmacy. In A Short History of American Pharmacy. Philadelphia, PA: F.A. Davis.
[42] Thompson, A.J. (2005). The Golden Age of American Pharmacy. In A Short History of American Pharmacy. Philadelphia, PA: F.A. Davis.
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[44] Thompson, A.J. (2005). The Golden Age of American Pharmacy. In A Short History of American Pharmacy. Philadelphia, PA: F.A. Davis.
[45] Thompson, A.J. (2005). The Golden Age of American Pharmacy. In A Short History of American Pharmacy. Philadelphia, PA: F.A. Davis.
[46] Thompson, A.J. (2005). The Golden Age of American Pharmacy. In A Short History of American Pharmacy. Philadelphia, PA: F.A. Davis.
[47] Thompson, A.J. (2005). The Golden Age of American Pharmacy. In A Short History of American Pharmacy. Philadelphia, PA: F.A. Davis.
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See additional resources at the end of this document.
Originally published by Bulletin for the History of Chemistry 28:1 (2003, 9-17) under an Open Access license.
In the context of the article, 'science' can be associated with the knowledge and understanding of drugs and chemicals that became vital to the development of American pharmacy in the 19th century, especially the understanding of chemistry.
'Medical-conditions' can be tied to the discussions on the medicines and pharmaceutical solutions provided to treat various health issues during this time, such as the drugs used in apothecary shops and doctor's shops, or the concern over drug adulteration in the 1840s.
'Health-and-wellness' can be related to the broader objective of the pharmaceutical practices during this period, which aimed to provide medications for the healthcare and overall well-being of the populace. For instance, women in households handled domestic medical chores such as administering simple teas or laxative concoctions to promote health and wellness.
