AFneb™a^Pi92rini  \     Centenary  of  Pharmaceutical  Education.  75 
ORIGINAL  PAPERS 
THE  CENTENARY  OF  PHARMACEUTICAL  EDUCATION 
IN  AMERICA. 
By  George  M.  Beringer,  A.M.,  Ph.M. 
Upon  the  occasion  of  the  one  hundredth  anniversary  of  an  im- 
portant event  in  the  history  of  a  nation  or  of  an  organization,  it 
is  appropriate  that  a  more  comprehensive  retrospect  be  taken  than 
that  usual  at  the  intervening  annual  commemorations.  The  found- 
ing of  The  Philadelphia  College  of  Apothecaries  on  February  23, 
1 82 1,  the  first  pharmaceutical  society  to  be  organized  in  the  New 
World,  had  a  broader  significance  than  was  foreseen  at  that  time. 
The  history  of  this  College  is  of  vital  importance  to  pharmacy. 
As  the  pioneer  in  pharmaceutical  education  it  has  had  an  incal- 
culable influence  in  deciding  the  ideals  of  the  profession.  It  has 
been  a  potent  factor  in  determining  the  systematic  collegiate  educa- 
tion of  pharmacists,  and  the  influence  radiating  from  its  halls  have 
been  exemplary  and  of  untold  benefit  to  the  various  branches  of 
the  drug  trade,  as  well  as  to  the  strictly  professional  work  of  the 
pharmacy. 
On  the  centennial  of  such  an  important  pharmaceutical  event, 
our  thoughts  naturally  turn  to  a  review  of  the  political  and  social 
conditions  existing  at  the  time,  both  in  America  and  in  Europe; 
the  acts  and  influences  that  led  up  to  the  establishment  of  a  college 
for  the  tuition  of  pharmacists,  and  to  those  who  were  the  active 
and  guiding  spirits  in  this  movement. 
Europe  and  America  alike  had  but  recently  had  a  surfeit  of 
war.  The  Napoleonic  campaigns  had  affected  the  integrity  of  the 
European  countries,  and  the  Holy  Alliance  had  but  recently  been 
formed  to  support  the  second  treaty  of  Paris  and  to  secure  perma- 
nent peace  in  Europe.  To  the  South,  the  Spanish  Colonies  were 
fighting  their  mother  country  for  independence,  and  the  Central 
American  and  the  South  American  Governments  were  being  estab- 
lished. 
The  Anglo-American  War  of  1812-15  more  firmly  established 
our  own  Federal  Government  and  clearly  defined  the  attitude  of 
