Historic Founders & Futurists
14 Change Agents Got It All Started
Our founders were apothecaries who dreamed of a better future for patients. Concerned about the quality of medicines being dispensed to the public, they gathered at the Marlborough Hotel in Boston in 1823 to discuss and address the problem.
Ancient Roots of a Modern Practice
Despite the earliest pharmaceutical references dating back to Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt, it wasn’t until fairly recently that the medical field began to have a modern understanding of the practice of pharmacy. Apothecaries dotted colonial America by the 1700s, selling a wide variety of treatments. But there was little oversight of the industry.
Our founders adopted a constitution when they met in 1823.
Our founders worried that patients might be harmed by poorly manufactured or fraudulent medicines. Fueled by a deep commitment to professional ethics, they unanimously agreed to form an association of apothecaries to regulate the education of apprentices, encourage the use of superior quality drugs, and improve and advance the profession. After several meetings that December, the Constitution of the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy was adopted, and Ephraim Eliot, MD, was elected president. From these early beginnings, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy became the nation’s second school of pharmacy and the oldest institution of higher education in Boston.
The trade card of apothecary Ephraim Eliot, MD, the first president of Massachusetts College of Pharmacy
Historic Founders & Futurists
Meet some of the pioneering women and men who have made their mark on our institution—and on history.
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