Daniel B. Smith (July 14, 1792 – March, 1883) was an

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

pharmacist A pharmacist, also known as a chemist in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English, is a healthcare professional who is knowledgeable about preparation, mechanism of action, clinical usage and legislation of medications in ...

, and

taxidermist Taxidermy is the art of preserving an animal's body by mounting (over an armature) or stuffing, for the purpose of display or study. Animals are often, but not always, portrayed in a lifelike state. The word ''taxidermy'' describes the process ...

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Biography

Smith was

educated Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education also fol ...

at the Burlington

Friends ''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane (producer), David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting List of Friends episodes, ten seasons. With an ensemble cast ...

School under John Griscom, where he acquired an interest in

scientific Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

studies. In January 1811, he dissected and mounted a

Bald Eagle The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche ...

(''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') that was collected by Alexander Wilson (1766–1813) near Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey, which became the model for Wilson's drawing, which was engraved by Alexander Lawson (1773–1846) for Pl. 36 of ''American Ornithology'', vol. 4 (1811). Wilson also quoted at length from Smith's dissection notes, and his original sketch of Smith's taxidermy is preserved in the archives of the Ernst Mayr Library,

Museum of Comparative Zoology The Museum of Comparative Zoology (formally the Agassiz Museum of Comparative Zoology and often abbreviated to MCZ) is a zoology museum located on the grounds of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is one of three natural-history r ...

, Harvard University. On graduating, he

apprenticed Apprenticeship is a system for training a potential new practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study. Apprenticeships may also enable practitioners to gain a license to practice in a regulate ...

to John Biddle in the

apothecary ''Apothecary'' () is an Early Modern English, archaic English term for a medicine, medical professional who formulates and dispenses ''materia medica'' (medicine) to physicians, surgeons and patients. The modern terms ''pharmacist'' and, in Brit ...

business, and on completion he was admitted to

partnership A partnership is an agreement where parties agree to cooperate to advance their mutual interests. The partners in a partnership may be individuals, businesses, interest-based organizations, schools, governments or combinations. Organizations ...

. In 1819 he opened a

drug store A pharmacy (also called drugstore in American English or community pharmacy or chemist in Commonwealth English) is a premises which provides pharmaceutical drugs, among other products. At the pharmacy, a pharmacist oversees the fulfillment of ...

in downtown Philadelphia, and in 1828 he entered into partnership with William Hodgson, renaming the firm "Smith & Hodgson", and continued to be active in business until a few years before his death. At the age of 28, he was one of the founders of the Apprentices' Library of Philadelphia. Smith was a prominent member of a group of pharmacists that in 1821 established the

Philadelphia College of Pharmacy Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

(now the

University of the Sciences in Philadelphia University of the Sciences in Philadelphia (University of the Sciences or USciences), previously Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science (PCPS), was a private university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. On June 1, 2022, it officially merge ...

) the first college of pharmacy in the country, was elected vice president in 1828, and from 1829 to 1854 served as president. In 1852, he became the first president of the

American Pharmaceutical Association The American Pharmacists Association (APhA, previously known as the American Pharmaceutical Association), founded in 1852, is the first-established professional society of pharmacists in the United States. The association consists of more tha ...

. In 1824, Smith married Esther Morton, daughter of John Morton, a prominent Philadelphia merchant and banker, and his second wife, Mary Robinson of

Newport, RI Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and northeast of New York City. It ...

. They had sons John and Benjamin, and one daughter, Mary. Smith was chairman of the committee that in 1826 published the first issue of the "American Journal of Pharmacy." He was acclaimed for his wide knowledge of the

natural science Natural science or empirical science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer ...

s and

liberal arts Liberal arts education () is a traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term ''skill, art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the fine arts. ''Liberal arts education'' can refe ...

, and in 1834 became

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

Moral Philosophy Ethics is the philosophical study of moral phenomena. Also called moral philosophy, it investigates normative questions about what people ought to do or which behavior is morally right. Its main branches include normative ethics, applied et ...

, English Literature, and Chemistry in Haverford School (now

Haverford College Haverford College ( ) is a private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Haverford, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded as a men's college in 1833 by members of the Religious Society of Fr ...

), and served as

Superintendent Superintendent may refer to: *Building superintendent, a manager, maintenance or repair person, custodian or janitor, especially in the United States; sometimes shortened to "super" *Prison warden or superintendent, a prison administrator *Soprin ...

(

Principal Principal may refer to: Title or rank * Principal (academia), the chief executive of a university ** Principal (education), the head of a school * Principal (civil service) or principal officer, the senior management level in the UK Civil Ser ...

) from 1843 to 1846. With his background in moral teaching he was prominent in starting the House of Refuge for

Juvenile Delinquents Juvenile delinquency, also known as juvenile offending, is the act of participating in unlawful behavior younger than the statutory age of majority. These acts would be considered crimes if the individuals committing them were older. The term ...

in 1828. He was an important organizer of the

in 1852, and convened its first meeting in Philadelphia, where he was elected the APhA's first president. Smith was an original member of the

Franklin Institute The Franklin Institute is a science museum and a center of science education and research in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is named after the American scientist and wikt:statesman, statesman Benjamin Franklin. It houses the Benjamin Franklin ...

, and also of the Pennsylvania

Historical Society A historical society is non-profit organization dedicated to collecting, preserving, interpreting, and promoting the history of a particular place, group of people, or topic. They play a crucial role in promoting historical awareness and understan ...

from its organization in 1825, and was its first corresponding secretary. Throughout his life he was active in the

Society of Friends Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

(

Quakers Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestantism, Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally ...

) and served a term as clerk (

convenor The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a Board of directors, board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by ...

) of the Philadelphia Quarterly Meeting. He was also a member of the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

and of the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia. He was an original incorporator of the "Old Philadelphia Saving Fund". He published "The

Principle A principle may relate to a fundamental truth or proposition that serves as the foundation for a system of beliefs or behavior or a chain of reasoning. They provide a guide for behavior or evaluation. A principle can make values explicit, so t ...

s of

Chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

" (Philadelphia, 1837,1842). Daniel Smith's son Benjamin R. Smith married Esther Fisher Wharton, the sister of

Joseph Wharton Joseph Wharton (March 3, 1826January 11, 1909) was an American industrialist and philanthropist. He was instrumental in the development of the nickel and zinc metal industries in the United States. He created the first plant in the United Stat ...

. The

American Pharmacists Association The American Pharmacists Association (APhA, previously known as the American Pharmaceutical Association), founded in 1852, is the first-established professional society of pharmacists in the United States. The association consists of more tha ...

continues a yearly award in the name of Daniel B. Smith for excellence in the practice of

Pharmacy Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medication, medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it ...

Footnotes

References

* Chapter on Daniel B. Smith in: "Quaker biographies, series II : brief biographical sketches concerning certain members of the Religious Society of Friends". Philadelphia : PYM book store, 1926. * History of the Apprentices' Library of Philadelphia, 1820-1920: The Oldest Free Circulating Library in America, by John Frederick Lewis (Philadelphia, 1924). http://www.coe.missouri.edu/~seaveyca/1876/Apprentice.html * George D. Feidt Company Records, 1833–1939, Historical Collections of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia: https://web.archive.org/web/20070213211301/http://www.collphyphil.org/FIND_AID/hist/histgdf1.htm * History of Haverford College, Chapters 2 & 5: https://web.archive.org/web/20070119180456/http://www.haverford.edu/library/collegehistory/pdfs/chapters/HistoryInterpretation_Chapter2.pdf https://web.archive.org/web/20070119180521/http://www.haverford.edu/library/collegehistory/pdfs/chapters/HistoryInterpretation_Chapter5.pdf * Minutes of Quarterly Meeting of Friends held in Philadelphia, the Sixth of the Fifth Month, 1850: Haverford College Library. * Daniel B. Smith papers, 1834–1845, Haverford College Library. * Daniel B. Smith records, 1826–1851, Pennsylvania Historical Society. * Family tree of Daniel B Smith: http://wharton.freeservers.com/danielburlingtonsmith.html * New England Women and Their Families in the 18th and 19th Centuries: http://www.lexisnexis.com/documents/academic/upa_cis/2628_NEWomenSerBPt1.pdf * Williams-Miles Collection—Rare Chemistry: https://web.archive.org/web/20060903070109/http://quest.harding.edu/A_CHEM1.pdf * American Pharmacists Association—Awards Application and Guidebook, 2005 https://web.archive.org/web/20070821210537/http://www.aphanet.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home * The Principles of Chemistry: Prepared for the use of schools, academies, and colleges, by Daniel B Smith. 1842 https://books.google.com/books?id=aSMJAAAAIAAJ&q=daniel+b+smith Reprinted by Nabu Press (February 8, 2010) {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Daniel B 1792 births 1883 deaths American Quakers 19th-century American pharmacists Educators from Philadelphia Heads of universities and colleges in the United States University of the Sciences 19th-century American educators Pharmacists from Philadelphia