Franklin Bache ( – ) was an American physician, chemist, professor and writer from Pennsylvania. He taught chemistry at

West Point Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

, the

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

Philadelphia College of Pharmacy Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since 1 ...

and

Jefferson Medical College Thomas Jefferson University is a private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Established in its earliest form in 1824, the university officially combined with Philadelphia University in 2017. To signify its heritage, the univer ...

. He published several scientific textbooks including a pharmacopoeia with Dr. George B. Wood in 1830 that became the basis of the

U.S. Pharmacopoeia The ''United States Pharmacopeia'' (''USP'') is a pharmacopeia (compendium of drug information) for the United States published annually by the United States Pharmacopeial Convention (usually also called the USP), a nonprofit organization that ...

and U.S. Dispensatory. He was the first American to perform original research on the study of

acupuncture Acupuncture is a form of alternative medicine and a component of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in which thin needles are inserted into the body. Acupuncture is a pseudoscience; the theories and practices of TCM are not based on scientifi ...

for the treatment of pain. He was the son of

Benjamin Franklin Bache Benjamin Franklin Bache (August 12, 1769 – September 10, 1798) was an American journalist, printer and publisher. He founded the ''Philadelphia Aurora'', a newspaper that supported Jeffersonian philosophy. He frequently attacked the Federalis ...

and great-grandson of

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...

Early life and education

Bache was born on in Philadelphia to

and Margaret Hartman Markoe. He was the great-grandson of Benjamin Franklin. He graduated from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

in 1810, and began to study medicine under Dr.

Benjamin Rush Benjamin Rush (April 19, 1813) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father of the United States who signed the United States Declaration of Independence, and a civic leader in Philadelphia, where he was a physician, politician, ...

. He left medical school in 1813 and entered the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

as a surgeons mate in an infantry division during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

. He returned to school after the war and received his medical diploma from the University of Pennsylvania in 1814.

Career

He was commissioned a surgeon in the U.S. Army in 1814 and taught at West Point Academy. He resigned from the Army in 1816 and began the practice of medicine in Philadelphia. In 1821, he published the first American version of the ''Dictionary of Chemistry''. In 1822, he succeeded

Gerard Troost Gerardus Troost (March 5, 1776 – August 14, 1850) was a Dutch-American medical doctor, naturalist, mineralogist, and founding member and first president of the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences.; archive.org copie Biography Troost was ...

as professor of chemistry at the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and became the chair of materia medica from 1831 to 1841. He was physician to the

Walnut Street Prison Walnut Street Prison was a city jail and prison, penitentiary house in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from 1790 to 1838. Legislation calling for establishment of the jail was passed in 1773 to relieve overcrowding in the High Street Jail; the first ...

from 1826 to 1832, professor of chemistry at the Franklin Institute from 1829 to 1836 and physician to the

Eastern State Penitentiary The Eastern State Penitentiary (ESP) is a former American prison in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is located at 2027 Fairmount Avenue between Corinthian Avenue and North 22nd Street in the Fairmount section of the city, and was operational from ...

. He served as professor of chemistry at Jefferson Medical College from 1841 until his death. In 1819 he published a ''System of Chemistry for the Use of Students of Medicine''. Along with Dr. George B. Wood, he prepared a pharmacopoeia in 1830 that was adopted by a national convention of physicians, and became the basis of the ''U. S. Pharmacopoeia and U. S. Dispensatory''. He continued to refine and publish new versions of the pharmacopeia with Dr. Wood, from 1833 until his death. He published a ''Supplement to Henry's Chemistry'' (1823); ''Letters on Separate Confinement of Prisoners'' (1829-'30); and ''Introductory Lectures on Chemistry'' (1841-'52). He partnered with Dr. Robert Hare and edited the American version of

Andrew Ure Andrew Ure Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (18 May 1778 – 2 January 1857) was a Scottish people, Scottish physician, chemist, scriptural geologist, and early Organizational theory, business theorist who founded the Garnethill Observatory, G ...

's Dictionary of Chemistry. From 1823 to 1832, he was one of the editors of the ''North American Medical and Surgical Journal'' and contributed significantly to other scientific journals. He prepared for publication a treatise by chemist James Cutbush titled ''A System of Pyrotechny'', published after Cutbush's death. Bache was the first American to perform original research on the study of acupuncture to relieve pain. While working at the state penitentiary, he treated 12 different prisoners with various ailments including muscular rheumatism, chronic pain, neuralgia and ophthalmia. He was elected a member of the Franklin Institute in 1827. He was elected a member of the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

in 1820 and served as president from 1854 to 1855. He served as vice-president of the

College of Physicians of Philadelphia The College of Physicians of Philadelphia is the oldest private medical society in the United States. Founded in 1787 by 24 Philadelphia physicians "to advance the Science of Medicine, and thereby lessen human misery, by investigating the disease ...

and as president of the deaf and dumb asylum corporation.

Personal life

In 1818, Bache married Algae Dabadie. She died of

consumption Consumption may refer to: *Resource consumption *Tuberculosis, an infectious disease, historically * Consumption (ecology), receipt of energy by consuming other organisms * Consumption (economics), the purchasing of newly produced goods for curren ...

in May 1835. He was a Master Mason in the Franklin Lodge, No. 134 of the

Free and Accepted Masons Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

named after his great-grandfather.

Death and legacy

Bache died of

typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...

on 19 March 1864 in Philadelphia and was interred at

Laurel Hill Cemetery Laurel Hill Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery in the East Falls neighborhood of Philadelphia. Founded in 1836, it was the second major rural cemetery in the United States after Mount Auburn Cemetery in Boston, Massachusetts. The cemetery is ...

. A memoir of him was published and presented to the American Philosophical Society by Dr. George B. Wood in 1865.

Publications

*
A System of Chemistry for the Use of Students of Medicine
', William Fry, Philadelphia, 1819 *
A Dictionary of Chemistry, on the Basis of Mr. Nicholson's; in which the Principles of the Science are Investigated Anew, and its Applications to the Phenomena of Nature, Medicine, Mineralogy, Agriculture, and Manufactures, Detailed
', Robert Desilver, Philadelphia, 1821 *
Observations and Reflections on the Penitentiary System. A Letter from Franklin Bache, M.D. to Roberts Vaux
', Jasper Harding, Philadelphia, 1829 *
Elements of Chemistry, Including the Recent Discoveries and Doctrines of the Science
', John Grigg, Philadelphia, 1830 *
The Dispensatory of the United States of America
', Grigg & Elliot, Philadelphia, 1839 *
An Obituary Notice of Thomas T. Hewson, M.D., Late President of the Philadelphia College of Physicians
', W.F. Geddes, Philadelphia, 1850 *
Valedictory Address to the Graduates of Jefferson Medical College. Delivered at the Public Commencement, held March 15, 1859
', Joseph M. Wilson, Philadelphia, 1859

References

Citations Sources * *

External links

*
Franklin Bache papers at the Historical Society of PennsylvaniaPortrait of Dr. Franklin Bache at The Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bache, Franklin Created via preloaddraft 1792 births 1864 deaths 19th-century American chemists 19th-century American physicians Acupuncturists American Freemasons American surgeons Burials at Laurel Hill Cemetery (Philadelphia) Deaths from typhoid fever Franklin family Jefferson Medical College faculty Members of the American Philosophical Society Military personnel from Philadelphia People from Pennsylvania in the War of 1812 Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania alumni Physicians from Pennsylvania United States Army Medical Corps officers United States Army personnel of the War of 1812 United States Military Academy faculty University of Pennsylvania alumni University of the Sciences faculty