President's address : delivered ... at the 1930 United States Pharmacopoeial Convention ... in Washington, D.C / [Reid Hunt].

  • Hunt, Reid, 1870-1948
Date:
[1930]
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: President's address : delivered ... at the 1930 United States Pharmacopoeial Convention ... in Washington, D.C / [Reid Hunt]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS Delivered by President Reid Hunt at the 1930 United States Pharmacopoeial Convention, Tuesday, May 13, 1930, IN Washington, D. C. One of the duties of the President of this Convention, as stated in the by-laws, is the presentation of an address ‘‘embodying such sub¬ jects as may seem to him suitable to the occasion.” Since many of those present are attending a meeting of the Con¬ vention for the first time, it may be well to speak briefly of the pur¬ poses and history of this organization. It was founded in 1820 and has been in continuous existence ever since; the first sessions were held in the Senate Chamber of the Capitol. It is one of the oldest organiza¬ tions in the United States, antedating by many years the American Medical Association, the American Pharmaceutical Association, the National Academy of Sciences, etc. It was founded by physicians; perhaps it would be more accurate to say that it was founded by a single physician, Lyman Spalding. Spalding was a man of rare vision; he was a pioneer in medical education and sanitation; he had an im¬ portant part in the introduction of vaccination into the United States. His most important service, however, was the founding of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, which is the oldest national pharmacopoeia of a mod¬ ern type in the world. The U. S. P. was the first pharmacopoeia to adopt the recommendations of the Brussels Conference for the Unifica¬ tion of Potent Medicaments; it thus became the first national phar¬ macopoeia with an international character. It has also been trans¬ lated into Chinese and Spanish; it is the official pharmacopoeia of Cuba. This Convention, which is incorporated under the laws of the Dis- ' trict of Columbia, is different from most associations; the members are not here for any personal gain; all their activities are in the interest of the health of the people of the United States. ' The Articles of Incorporation state that the objects and business of this association are the promotion of medicine and pharmacy by select-