^ebrua^y^™' }    Centenary  of  Pharmaceutical  Education.  91 
in  Burlington,  and  whose  reputation  attracted  scholars  from  Phila- 
delphia, New  York  and  portions  of  New  England.  In  the  fall  of 
1808,  this  Quaker  schoolmaster  gave  a  course  of  lectures  on  chem- 
istry, and  this  was  the  first  teaching  of  chemistry  in  the  common 
schools  of  the  United  States  of  which  we  have  any  record.  The 
influence  of  a  teacher  so  enthusiastic  and  endowed  with  such  natural 
qualifications,  and  gifted  with  a  conversational  ability  that  was 
magnetic,  must  have  been  a  potent  factor  in  deciding  the  choice  of 
a  business  career  for  Daniel  B.  Smith,  which  would  bring  him  into 
close  association  with  scientific  studies.  After  leaving  the  school, 
he  entered  the  store  of  John  Biddle  on  Market  Street,  between 
Fourth  and-  Fifth  Streets,  Philadelphia,  to  learn  the  drug  busiiess. 
After  completing  his  apprenticeship,  a  partnership  existed  with  his 
preceptor  under  the  firm  name  of  Biddle  &  Smith  for  about  one 
year.  In  1819,  Daniel  B.  Smith  established  his  own  store  at  the 
northeast  corner  of  Arch  and  Sixth  Streets.  At  that  time  this 
locality  was  the  quiet,  secluded,  residential  section  occupied  by  many 
of  the  prominent  members  of  the  Society  of  Friends. 
He  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Apprentices'  Library  in 
1820,  for  "the  purpose  of  supplying  wholesome  instruction  and 
useful  reading  for  boys  learning  a  trade."  He  was  an  active,  if 
not  the  dominating  spirit,  in  the  founding  of  The  Philadelphia 
College  of  Pharmacy,  and  was  elected  Secretary;  after  serving  as 
Secretary  for  seven  years,  he  was  elected  Vice-President  in  1828, 
and  President  in  1829.  For  a  period  of  twenty-five  years,  during 
a  most  trying  period  in  the  history  of  the  College,  he  held  this 
position,  resigning  in  1854. 
When  the  Committee  on  Publication  was  appointed  in  June, 
1825,  the  College  having  "in  contemplation"  to  publish  an  occasional 
journal,  containing  improvements  of  formulas,  new  discoveries,  and 
other  interesting  pharmaceutical  information,  Daniel  B.  Smith  was 
appointed  the  chairman.  When  the  first  number  of  the  journal  of 
The  Philadelphia  College  of  Pharmacy 4  appeared  in  December, 
1825,  Daniel  B.  Smith  was  the  editor  and  the  author  of  the  initial 
original  article  on  "Epsom  Salts  and  Magnesia."  To  him  belongs 
the  credit  of  having  established  from  its  inception,  the  journal  on  a 
high  scientific  and  ethical  plane. 
4  Under  this  title  the  publication  was  continued  for  six  volumes;  since 
1835,  it  has  been  published  under  the  more  comprehensive  name  of  The 
American  Journal  of  Pharmacy. 
