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ALBERT ETHELBERT EBERT.

Born December 23, 1840; Died November 20, 1906.

The Chicago Veteran Druggists' Association was very near and dear to Mr. Ebert. As historian, he labored long and well in bringing to light the early history of the drug business in Chicago. In a souvenir volume published by G. P. Engelhard & Co., for the C. V. D. A. in 1904, we find the following sketch of Mr. Ebert's life based upon data which he furnished:

"It is Now About Fifty Years since the subject of this sketch first entered the drug business as an apprentice in the store of F. Scammon & Co. Since that time he

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has been and still remains one of the most prominent figures in the pharmaceutical profession, known not only in this country but in England, France and Germany. During the course of his life he has contributed many of the leading papers which have gone to make up the literature of pharmacy; his work in the American Pharmaceutical Association since 1864 forms many important chapters and he has occupied numerous positions of responsibility in that and other organizations, having been its president and prominent at one time and another in the work of every important committee of the association.

"Mr. Ebert was born in Bavaria, Germany, December 23, 1840, and came to this country with his parents in 1841. His father was a horticulturist and gardener, and with the family settled in Chicago, where later young Albert received a part of his education in public and private schools.

"In October, 1853, he entered the drug, store of F. Scammon & Co., 140 Lake Street, Chicago, where he served for four years as an apprentice. He then entered the store of Henry Bronold, with whom he remained two years, familiarizing himself with German pharmacy, at the end of which period he returned to the old store, which in the meantime had changed

owners and had became the store of Sargent & Ilsley. Here he took charge of the retail department, remaining until 1861. In 1859, on the organization of the Chicago College of Pharmacy, he enrolled himself as a student and attended lectures in that college until 1861, when the course was suspended owing to the breaking out of the Civil War.

"Young Ebert then entered the employ of Dr. F. Mahla, a distinguished chemist of Chicago, with whom he remained two years. In 1863 he entered the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, graduating therefrom at the head of his class in 1864. During that time he was also a student in the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania and was associated with Prof. Edward Parrish in the school of pharmacy for the training of applicants to the medical departments of the army and navy, and for students preparing for examination in medical colleges.

"In 1864 He Attended a meeting of the American Pharmaceutical Association in Cincinnati and was elected a member of the organization. Desiring to prosecute his studies still further, Mr. Ebert went next to the University of Munich, Bavaria, where he studied under the distinguished Justus von Liebig and under Wittstein, in those laboratories he completed his studies, receiving the degree of doctor of philosophy. With Prof. Procter, of Philadelphia, and John Faber, of New York, he represented the United States at the International Pharmaceutical Congress in Paris in 1867, after which he traveled for several months with Prof. Procter in Switzerland, Germany and France.

"Soon after this Mr. Ebert went to Dundee, Scotland, as a delegate from the American Pharmaceutical Association to the British Pharmaceutical Conference and was made an honorary member of that body. During his stay in Great Britain he made the acquaintance of the leading chemists and pharmacists of that country, his letters of introduction from Liebig, Wittstein, Procter and others giving him unusual facilities for observation and instruction among the teachers of chemistry and pharmacy in the great universities.

"In 1868 Mr. Ebert returned to Chicago and opened up a drug store at Twelfth and State Streets. From 1872 to 1884 he was engaged in the manufacture of grape sugar and glucose at Milwaukee, Peoria and Chicago. He invented the sulphurous process for the manufacture of starch and glucose, which process is still the standard method in this line of manufacture.

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A. E. EBERT IN 1869.

"In 1883 Mr. Ebert purchased a drug store at the northwest corner of State and Polk Streets, his present location, and in the following year acquired another store at the southwest corner of Madison and South Halsted Streets.

MEYER BROTHERS DRUGGIST

381

"In 1868 the Pharmacist, a publication of the Chicago College of Pharmacy, was started and Mr. Ebert

in his attendance at the annual meetings and active in its councils. Each volume of its published pro

interest.

became its editor, a position which he held until 1876. | ceedings bear witness to his active industry in its This publication later on merged with the Western Druggist.

"Mr. Ebert was professor of pharmacy in the Chicago College of Pharmacy, with which school he still retains an official connection. He was vice-president of the American Pharmaceutical Association in 1868 and president of that organization in 1872. He was on the committee for the Revision of the United States Pharmacopoeia in 1870, was vice-president of the national convention for its revision in 1890 and was again a member of the convention in 1900, being at present a member of the board of trustees of the convention.

He has been a prominent contributor to the leading pharmaceutical journals for many years. In collaboration with A. Emil Hiss, he prepared the Standard Formulary, a work of established reputation among pharmacists. Mr. Ebert is a member of all the leading associations and pharmaceutical societies, of the Illinois Board of Pharmacy, the Chicago Historical Society, the Academy of Sciences, etc. He is, superfluous to add, historian of the C. V. D. A., and has led in legislative reforms in pharmacy. He is still in business.

"In politics Mr. Ebert is an independent and has no affiliations in society work except those connected with the drug business. He was married in 1871 to Miss May L. Whiteley. Mr. and Mrs. Ebert have had two children, one of whom, Adeline Elsie Ebert, is living."

At the Indianapolis meeting I was greatly impressed with the graceful sentiment that prompted him to prepare a round robin letter to our worthy friend, Mr. J. W. M. Gordon, of Cincinnati, whose absence from the meeting was very much regretted.

Mr. Ebert will be greatly missed, as his sudden taking off is deeply deplored.

W. J. M. Gordon, Cincinnati, Ohio (President A. Ph. A., 1864-5). I have just received your letter informing me of the death of our dear friend, Mr. Albert E. Ebert. It shocks me to receive this, being so un

expected, and I cannot express the sorrow I feel in the loss of a dear and almost a life-long friend. From the time he became a member of the American Pharmaceutical Association, it has been my pleasure to know him socially, and to meet him at a great number of meetings. His whole heart and soul seemed to be devoted to pharmacy, and scientific and collateral branches with qualification which enabled him always to grasp a subject without difficulty, and his deep interest in everything pertaining to what he was engaged in caused him to enter into it with all his power. We have lost an able member of the profession. It is enough almost to say that he was one whose strong and noble character impressed those who came in contact with him, and his cordial grasp of the hand was characteristic of his manly nature. He will be greatly missed.

Joseph L. Lemberger, Lebanon, Pa. (President A. Ph. A., 1905-6). The death of Albert E. Ebert came as a great shock to me.

We had delightful conferences with him at our late meeting in Indianapolis, and all of us felt much sym

Expressions by Ex-Presidents of the A. Ph. A. E. L. Patch, Boston, Mass. (President A. Ph. A., 1893-4). My acquaintance with Mr. Ebert was confined to the meetings of the American Pharmaceutical Association. The characteristics that most impressed me were his sincerity and earnestness in all he under-pathy for him; he had a very trying year, with the loss took. His convictions were deep seated and he never feared to express them whether or not they pleased the majority. The volumes of the "Annual Proceedings" have on record his contributions to practical pharmacy extending over a long period, and we may count him among the few who have been nationally prominent in their calling.

We sincerely sympathize with his near friends in their great loss.

John F. Patton, York, Pa. (President A. Ph. A., 1900-1). The news of the death of Mr. Albert E. Ebert comes to me as a surprising and distressing shock, and will carry grief to many of the hearts of the older members of the A. Ph. A.

How differently would we have regarded Mr. Ebert had we but realized, as we parted at Indianapolis, that it was to be the last time we would ever grasp his hand and look on his face.

Albert E. Ebert was a strong character, earnest in conviction and vigorous in expression, and the A. Ph. A. had no more loyal and devoted member. From the time he joined the association in 1864 he was faithful

of wife and the disturbance incident to the forced removal of his business: withal he seemed to view matters so very philosophically, much to my surprise: it is just another demonstration of a well-known maxim, "that the back is suited to the burden"-with those, who as a rule in life are minded to act under the impulse of a conscientious desire to do to others as they wish to be done by them. My memory of our friend Ebert will always be pleasant; he was ever loyal to a friend, and considerate for those who did not agree with him. The American Pharmaceutical Association never will have a more devoted member nor one more interested in all that pertains to its welfare, present or future. Possessed as he was, of a strong personality, always ready to stand or fall by a clear conviction of duty, frank, fearless and candid in any cause or line of duty that appealed to him, the weight of trial or care, and the approaching infirmity to which at last nature succumed, seemed not to weaken his desire or ambition to keep in touch with the advances our profession is making.

We will miss Albert Ebert at our meetings; his warm

souled greeting; his peculiar presence, typifying a personality that was so prominently present when he became interested in discussion. He rarely missed a meeting of the association since his admission, fortytwo years ago. He will be missed more especially because he contributed heartily by voice or pen to the welfare of the association as he comprehended its needs.

Life's struggle is over, may he rest in peace.

An

J. M. Good, St. Louis, Mo. (President A. Ph. A., 1895-6.) When Albert E. Ebert, of Chicago, died, a veteran dropped out of the ranks of pharmacy. associate of Procter, Parrish, Maisch, Bedford and others of the old school, he did not always approve of the latter-day methods of conducting the drug business; yet it can hardly be said of him that he was unreasonably conservative. Although well known in Chicago, in which city he was for many years engaged in the retail business, yet his acquaintances and friends are widely distributed over the United States because of his long-time membership in the American Pharmaceutical Association and his activity in that organization. It is needless to say that he will be very much missed by the other active members. The proceedings will not seem normal with his voice silent. He was a man of positive opinions and he expressed them unreservedly. His age and experience always assured him a hearing. In his judgment he was not often wrong, and he was less frequently convinced of the fact.

Although like the most of his associates he prized the good opinion of others, yet if this life does not end all he is not among those who would expect a halo.

The inevitable result is, that the lapse of time causes the impressions of the most conspicuous to become dimmed and, with the passing of his contemporaries, to entirely fade away, but if Mr. Ebert's successors are true to the association and continue its good work, the fund which bears his name will give him conspicuous mention at every annual meeting, long after his personality has spent its force. The history of the "Ebert Fund," it is to be hoped, will be repeated for the benefit of those not familiar with the circumstances under which it was established.

Because his strong and innate business sense was so generally recognized, when it came to making up the board of trustees of the United States Pharmacopoeial Convention, Mr. Ebert's name was very promptly mentioned; and his services in that capacity, as well as in numerous others to which he has been called, have been valuable.

There was only one Ebert, we would that more were possible.

J. F. Hancock, Baltimore, Md. (President A. Ph. A., 1873-4). I have your letter informing. me of the death of our mutual friend, the late Albert E. Ebert, of Chicago. It is sad to lose the companionship of one who has been so useful in the world. To one of my age it is doubly so.

I made the acquaintance of Mr. Ebert thirty-six years ago, when the American Pharmaceutical Association met in this city in 1870. At that time we were young and full of hope and promise. He joined the association in 1864, I joined in 1863.

Since the Baltimore meeting in 1870, we have been constant friends, and at this time of sadness, it is comforting to remember the pleasant moments passed in his company at the Indianapolis meeting in September last. Little did I think when we parted, that I would never again see his patriarchal face.

He was a distinctive character, long to be remembered and respected by his fellow members of the A. Ph. A. He was truthful and reliable in whatever

position he was placed. Perhaps at times his frankness produced wounds that time alone could heal, but no one could charge him with holding malice. His stab was always in the breast-never in the back. To me, from the time of our first acquaintance, he was uniformally kind and considerate, and I shall ever cherish his memory with affection. In conversation I do not remember ever hearing him traduce the character of any man, but from point of principle he would hotly contest views and arguments of his best friends. Would that we had more of such men in the world. Beyond question he was an accomplished pharmacist. What he had to do was accepted as an honest duty, whether in his shop or in a pharmaceutical meeting.

Since the days of Procter, I doubt if there has been a member more regular in attendance at the annual meeting of the A. Ph. A. I am confident that no member has shown more disinterested interest in the proceedings. At the Baltimore meeting in 1870, I was impressed with his earnestness and frankness, which to qualify I will quote his remarks on page 63 of the proceedings of that year:

Mr. Ebert. "There is a committee on unofficial formulas consisting of Messrs. Markoe, Moore and myself.

That committee has failed to make any report for two years. I do not wish to be on a committee that is not going to do any work.

If the chairman of that committee cannot do the work that is assigned to him, he had better resign, and let some one else do it. We come here every year without a report, and it is the fault of the chairman of the committee.

We are good friends, but still I find fault with him for not having a report."

The quotation of the above remarks uttered thirtysix years ago may be accepted as a pen picture of the late A. E. Ebert, which has remained without alteration or the slightest modification to the close of his life. It seems a coincidence that I should have immediately succeeded him as president, chairman of the historical section and acted upon his inspiration to establish a lasting memorial to Prof. Procter.

J. U. Lloyd, Cincinnati, Ohio (President A. Ph. A., 1887-8). I knew Mr. Ebert well. He and I were friends, and friends from a-far back, as time is read in the lives of men. Each year we met at the American Pharmaceutical Association, and sometimes, on occasions, between those meetings. I look upon Ebert as one who impetuously and vehemently did his work,

and did it well. On the spur of the moment he would move, in the prime of his life, as moves an avalanche, throwing himself with all his intellectual weight upon the opponent, uniting his efforts without a thought as to the personal result, with those whose cause he championed. Nor did Ebert often have reason to regret the inspiration that moved him to action, for, as a rule, I can say that as I look back over the quarter of a century and more that I studied Mr. Ebert's methods and actions, he was usually right and always honest. That he championed the weaker side (and often championed the weaker side), does not indicate that he was wrong, and that the majority was right, but be it said that, when he was upon the side of the majority, victory meant to him nothing personal. Defeat likewise brought no humiliation.

It will be perceived that I have thrown into the beginning of my thought of Ebert, as Ebert was, a touch that leads to the impression that Ebert was combative. And so he was. Conspicuously combative, I should say; but combative in favor of that which tended to make pharmacy better, and tended especially to be helpful to the apothecary in his struggles against the inevitable; the brushing out of the past, and the coming in of the new.

Ebert was an apothecary-pharmacist of the olden time. He believed in the methods that came to him,

as his biographer will tell, in the days when to become an apothecary meant, first, to be an apprentice, and serve an apprenticeship under the guiding care of one qualified to teach the apothecary's art. Never did he forget to champion the methods in which he believed a foundation in pharmacy should be laid. To the very last his voice was heard, pleadingly heard, in favor of the apothecary of old, over whom the modern Juggernaut called "Pharmacy" was rolling. To Ebert, the man engaged in thoughtful pharmacy was a brother, and to one and all in real pharmacy, especially those who served as apothecaries, Ebert was a brother. He devoted his life to the interests of their cause, he served well their interests, and he credited with great honor their cause.

When I met Ebert in Indianapolis last summer, I saw that the end of his work in pharmacy was near at hand. He was with me much, he drew me apart from others, and then, when we were alone, talked much of things that must not be put into print. It was a new and pathetic phase in broken-hearted Ebert's life, and although he did not know it, I comprehended that such a change as this, meant, to us-the loss of Ebert. But I must withdraw that last sentence, for Ebert is not lost to us. Personally, he is among us no longer, but, stretching back through decades that make half a century, we find Ebert and Ebert's work, so recorded

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The Albert E. Ebert Grave, in Graceland Cemetery, as it looked Friday, November 23, 1906, after the interment.

that Ebert, in American pharmacy, will never die. And now I must close, else my pen will surely intrude on what will be the duty of the biographer. But in closing I cannot but wonder if the hope that Ebert expressed to me in our last meeting in Indianapolis, concerning his intentions regarding American pharmacy and the American Pharmaceutical Association, was consumated by him when he returned to his desolate home. The question is, did Ebert do that which he had decided upon in Indianapolis to accomplish at once, in a legal way, or did he, like others who sometimes procrastinate, leave undone that which would give the finishing touch that Mr. Ebert had planned to his life in pharmacy?

C. Lewis Diehl, Louisville, Ky. (President A. Ph. A., 1874-5). My acquaintance with Albert E. Ebert dates back to the year 1863, while I was engaged in the United States Army Laboratory at Philadelphia. Mr. Ebert had returned from his home, in Chicago, to complete his course of study in the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy-which he began in 1862, during my absence in the army-and had brought with him two friends, Lewis Strehl and Philip Milliman, whom he had persuaded to attend the college, and who were about to begin, or had commenced, their first course in that institution.

Visitors in the United States Army Laboratory were nothing unusual, but they were usually conducted through the laboratory either by the surgeon in charge, Dr. A. K. Smith, or one of the clerks from the office, and if any introductions were necessary, these were perfunctory, and very little attention was paid to the visitors, or, indeed, expected, from the chemists in charge of the department visited. It was only on rare occasions that Prof. Maisch, whose duties as chief chemist naturally demanded his entire time, accompanied visitors, and it was therefore the more surprising that he should on a certain day in the fall of the year '63 enter my department, and, radiant of face, introduce to me Albert E. Ebert, of Chicago, explaining that Mr. Ebert, having learned that I was a fellow-townsman, was very anxious to become acquainted with me.

The cordial grasp of the hand, the enthusiasm with which he claimed acquaintance when I identified myself as the son of "Squire" Diehl, of Chicago, whom he knew personally, gave evidence of Mr. Ebert's sincerity in singling me out; it led me to regard him with more than passing interest, to cultivate his acquaintance-in which I was met more than half way by Mr. Ebert himself—and culminated during the remaining few months before his graduation with the class of '64, in a sincere friendship, alike to brotherly love, which has never wavered during all the years that have since passed.

To those who have come in touch with Mr. Ebert, it is not necessary to explain that his principal charm consisted of the absolute sincerity of his character and his helpful disposition. Coupled with these was an enthusiastic love for his chosen profession of phar

macy and the absolute fearlessness with which he gave utterance to, and defended, his convictions. These attributes could not fail to impress themselves on all persons with whom he came in contact, so that, however they might disagree with him on controversial points, he was sure to elicit their respect and in most cases gain their personal regard, if not affection -for, if Albert E. Ebert had a single enemy, I cannot point him out.

As a mere youth he comes to Philadelphia, and in a few brief months becomes the chosen friend of a Procter, a Parrish, a Maisch; he goes abroad for a post-graduate experience, and becomes the intimate of his teachers, among them some of the renowned lights in the profession of pharmacy and chemistry-a Liebig, a Wittstein, a Mohr; a visit to England, and attendance at an annual meeting of the British Pharmaceutical Conference, and he is the friend of the foremost representatives of pharmacy in Great Britain. And when in 1871, Chicago was laid in ashes, and with it the Chicago College of Pharmacy-which under the tireless efforts of Ebert had been called to life

again after lying dormant for many years—it was the name of Ebert that secured the generous contributions from abroad which enabled the college of pharmacy to resume its activity almost without interruption.

To know Ebert was to love him for his personality and his kindly disposition, and to admire him for his championship of the cause of true pharmacy. What

his influence had been in the latter direction is revealed in the numerous volumes of proceedings of the American Pharmaceutical Association, beginning with the year 1864, when he became a member of that association, and it may safely be said that few important measures were passed in all these years which do not bear the impress of his council, either in protest or advice. But even of greater value must be regarded the influence which he has exerted on individuals in the profession; for to him they turned for advise when confronted with perplexing problems, feeling assured, not alone of sound advice, but of sympathetic response to their necessities. As a matter of fact, few of his many friends omitted to call on Albert Ebert if chance brought them within the gates of the Metropolis of the Lakes, and time permitted between trains to reach the modest store at the corner of State and Polk Streets, which thus constituted a veritable Mecca for pharmaceutical pilgrims from all parts of the world; few of them departed without having profited from the interview, and none without the pleasure of a kindly reception.

Enno Sander, St. Louis, Mo. (President, A. Ph. A. 1871-2). The most active limb has been rudely torn from the body of the American Pharmaceutical Association and we mourn sincerely the serious, perhaps irreparable loss of our esteemed and highly cherished fellow-member, Albert E. Ebert.

Sorry indeed that I have not yet recovered from a recent severe illness and therefore can not do justice to the memory of my dear and amiable friend, but am

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