Page:American Journal of the Medical Sciences Vol 78.djvu/592

592 he conceived might be necessary to the occasion of his action; nothing was left to chance. He lost no time. It is related that he first lectured on chemistry to young persons of both sexes; and after a short time was employed by his preceptor, Dr. Parrish, to deliver lectures on chemistry to his private pupils. Such was his early training for his brilliant professorial career.

August 1, 1821, Dr. Wood was appointed one of the attending physicians of the Pennsylvania Institution for the Deaf and Dumb. He discharged the duties of the office till Nov. 1844—twenty-three years—and from that time till his decease his name was on the list of the consulting physicians of the Institution.

The Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, with which Dr. Wood's early career is closely associated, owes its origin to a few public spirited and benevolent gentlemen, a majority of them members of the Society of Friends. Its foundation dates from Feb. 23, 1821, when Dr. Gerard Troost was appointed professor of chemistry, and Dr. Samuel Jackson professor of materia medica. The purpose of the founders of the college was to increase and diffuse knowledge of pharmacy. So well has it answered expectation, that what was at that time merely a trade, has become a scientific profession which has the confidence and respect of the community. Its members generally are competent and trustworthy, and in this respect are not inferior to physicians as a class. Since its foundation this institution has conferred its degree of graduate in pharmacy on 1528 of its 5913 matriculants. July 23, 1822, Dr. Wood was elected professor of chemistry in place of Dr. Troost, resigned.

About this time his intimacy with Dr. Franklin Bache, who was then teaching chemistry, began. This friendship was confiding and lifelong. Dr. Bache was five years older than his friend; and it is most probable that his experience contributed to the success of enterprises in which they jointly engaged.

April 2, 1823, the young professor married Caroline, the only child of Mr. Peter Hahn. This act severed his rightful connection with the Society of Friends.

Feb. 14, 1824, he delivered, pursuant to appointment, an oration before the Philadelphia Medical Society, in which he said: "Few professions are more truly respectable than that of pharmacy; few require in their members more science, skill, and moral integrity; and, so long as he moves within the proper sphere of his duties, the apothecary may challenge our highest este.

Nov. 16, 1824, he delivered an address to the members of the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, the object of which was to excite attention to its importance, and rouse the zeal of the druggists and pharmacists of the city in its favour. Thirty-five years afterwards he wrote: "It has been among the highest gratifications of my life, that I was able to contribute towards the expansion and permanent success of a school which has been productive of much good, which is still in prosperous operation, and the establishment of which may be considered as the commencement of a new era in the pharmacy of the United States."

Dr. Wood perceived that the influence of scientific and other societies on the lives of their members is often beneficent. His opinion was that "a young man thus connected, if disposed to take advantage of his opportunities, will have much greater chances of distinction and usefulness than if isolated in his course of life."

Feb. 1825, he was elected a member of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia; but during his life he never manifested interest in the pursuits of the society. April, 1827, he was elected a fellow of the College of Physicians, of Philadelphia; and Nov. 3, 1845, he was duly elected vice-president in competition with three other candidates, vice Dr. Henry Neill, deceased. On the death of Dr. Thomas T. Hewson, he was unanimously elected president of the