Daniel B. Smith

Who was Daniel B. Smith?

Daniel B. Smith was an educator and pharmacist in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Smith was educated at Burlington Friends School under John Griscom, where he acquired an interest in scientific studies. On graduating, he apprenticed to John Biddle in the apothecary business, and on completion he was admitted to partnership. In 1819 he opened a drug store 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 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.

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. They had sons John and Benjamin, and one daughter, Mary.