American Institute of the History of Pharmacy

01/23/2026

We are still accepting applications for this important role at AIHP.

Please send materials to Kristen.Huset@wisc.edu and help us move forward together.

Help Save the History of Pharmacy - We're Hiring a Development Officer!

This role is at the heart of our mission to preserve pharmacy's rich history. Interested candidates should send a cover letter, resume, and two references to aihp@aihp.org with the subject line "Development Officer."

Visit https://aihp.org/aihp-development-officer-postition-open/ to find out more about us and the position.

01/22/2026

As AIHP celebrates its 85th anniversary, our current president, Cynthia Boyle, reflects on this milestone in the broader context of America's upcoming 250th anniversary:

Our current president, Cynthia Boyle, put the celebration in the wider context of America’s 250th anniversary.

“Birthdays are special. As AIHP celebrates its founding, I am thankful for the legacy of leadership and volunteer service since 1941.

My term as president coincides with our nation’s 250th birthday this year. I appreciate that Past President Bill Zellmer initiated inclusion of AIHP in JCPP (the Joint Commission of Pharmacy Practitioners). In May 2025, AIHP challenged JCPP organizations and their members to become involved in America250 with three goals:
· To celebrate the Semiquincentennial
· To collaborate in civic engagement
· To commemorate pharmacy milestones

The challenge is being met in a variety of ways. In the spirit of this initiative, the AIHP birthday celebration is a meaningful pharmacy milestone. Let’s make history together!
Happy Birthday, AIHP. Happy Birthday, America.”
- Cynthia Boyle, current president of the AIHP

We're proud of our 85 years of preserving pharmacy's story, and excited to keep writing the next chapters with you.

This image of Greg Higby and Glenn Sonnedecker is from AIHP's 75th anniversary celebration.

01/22/2026

As AIHP turns 85, we're highlighting voices that have helped shape its mission and legacy. In this post, we hear from John Swann, who served as AIHP President from 1999-2001 and again from 2007-2013.

"I was honored to serve as President of the American Institute of the History of Pharmacy from 1999-2001 and 2007- 2013. Though I had been on several official and ad hoc committees before then, my time on the AIHP Council benefited immensely from the incredibly insightful members from academic, administrative, and the professional practice of pharmacy, as well as professional historians—broadly conceived. We worked hard to ensure the Institute’s responsiveness to the interests of all those with a particular interest in the history of pharmacy and pharmaceuticals. That can be more difficult than one can imagine, but it helps to remind ourselves how much we can learn from others with different perspectives.

While I regret that (for some years now) we no longer meet annually with the American Pharmaceutical Association to present research results to a broad audience of historians and those in various pharmacy fields, the Institute has developed exciting online educational venues, and various association annual meetings still make room for historical discourse. I very much appreciate the opportunity to have helped in sustaining the AIHP’s long and esteemed mission to educate historians, pharmacists, pharmacy faculty, pharmacy executives, and many others about the importance of history in situating pharmacy’s place in society, and vice versa.

Happy 85th birthday, AIHP!"

John Swann, Ph. D
FDA Historian (retired)
20 January 2026

This photo of Glenn Sonnedecker and Greg Higby was taken at our 50th Anniversary Reception.

01/22/2026

As we celebrate AIHP's 85th anniversary today, former president Bill Zellmer asked us to share this quote from a 1984 editorial.

“We are fortunate to have an organization that is devoted to preserving and interpreting the heritage of pharmacy in the United States [...] An individual membership organization comprising practicing pharmacists and historians alike, AIHP merits wider support from all segments of the profession [...] We who have been blessed with a home in pharmacy have an obligation to support [...] the efforts of the American Institute of the History of Pharmacy.”

This photo is of AIHP's 25th Anniversary Dinner held at the Madison Inn.

We're proud of our 85 years of pharmacy history and grateful for the legacy of a community that cares about it-and us.

01/22/2026

To celebrate the 85th anniversary of the founding of the American Institute of the History of Pharmacy, we invited serveral former presidents to reflect on the importance of AIHP's mission and work.

John Grabenstein shared this inspiring perspective:

“I have long said: History informs progress! AIHP gives us insights into how things were, so we can choose the best path forward. As we invest in AIHP's people and AIHP's resources, we will reap dividends as pharmacy and pharmaceuticals continue to advance.”

This photo of Dr. Arthur Uhl, the Institute's first presdient is from AIHP's 10th Anniversary Conference.

01/22/2026

Eighty-five years ago today, the American Institute of the History of Pharmacy was founded at the University of Wisconsin. The institution was largely the product of a collaboration between Edward Kremers, a professor of pharmacy at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and George Urdang, a German pharmacist and historian.

Kremers was born to a family of German immigrants in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and would become an instructor of pharmacy at the University of Wisconsin, Madison after a period of study in Germany. Kremers ascended to the director of the university’s pharmacy program and would quickly make a name for himself as a reformer of pharmaceutical education.

Kremers took an active interest in history and reached out to the German historian and pharmacist George Urdang, a notable contributor to several German publications dedicated to the history of medicine, in 1921. From that point on, Kremers and Urdang would begin correspondence by mail.

In 1938, Urdang was forced to flee N**i Germany due to his Jewish heritage. He would spend some time in New York before moving to Madison in 1940 with the intention of collaborating with Kremers. Though Kremers was in poor health, he and Urdang published the first edition of their History of Pharmacy in 1940.

In 1941, Kremers and Urdang, along with several other professors at the University of Wisconsin, founded the AIHP. The same year, Kremers would pass away. Urdang would serve as the institute’s first director until his retirement in 1951.

This image is from 1951 from the 10th Anniversary Conference. Urdang is the gentleman in glasses on the top right.

01/20/2026

We're delighted to share some from our friends at University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Pharmacy University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Lunch at Rennebohm Drug Store, anyone?

For decades, the pharmacy and eatery was a go-to gathering spot for UW students.

01/15/2026

Congratulations to Metta Lou! Everyone at AIHP is so proud to be involved with her and we must thank her publicly for her continued support of , especially the role of women pharmacists -- an area that has been sadly understudied. It's fantastic to see her receive acclaim and recognition from APhA Foundation American Pharmacists Association. In 2021, the AIHP bestowed upon Metta Lou the Robert Fishchelis award: https://aihp.org/metta-lou-henderson-fischelis-award/

Congratulations Metta Lou Henderson for being named the 2026 Zada Cooper Leadership Medalist and Domer Lecturer! The ceremony and lecture will take place at the Women in Pharmacy Leadership Development Forum in Los Angeles.

University of Iowa College of Pharmacy American Pharmacists Association

01/14/2026

Throughout the decades, many pharmacists have taken the coming of a new year as a time to reflect and predict what the future holds. Many of these musings were published in the trade journals of the day, which often made room for more sentimental topics related to pharmacy rather than just shop talk.

In honor of the arrival of 2026, we have selected a series of articles published in the trade magazine Druggist’s Circular around the month of January. These articles reflect on a wide range of events, including the beginning and end of World War I, the Spanish flu, and the Great Depression. They provide an intimate insight into how these events affected American pharmacy and how they were perceived by the people who lived through them.

A summarization of these articles, along with information to contextualize their place in history, is available on the AIHP’s website, and we hope it will provide enjoyable reading for the new year. https://aihp.org/dose-of-history-new-years-in-pharmaceutical-publications/

01/13/2026

In honor of National Pharmacist Day, here's a great post from our colleagues over at the Wisconsin Historical Society. The History of Pharmacy and Pharmaceuticals is everywhere around us! University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Pharmacy

12/29/2025

We are looking to recruit a first-rate Development Officer at AIHP to help us pursue our mission. Luckily we have friends and collaborators to help us spread the word! University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Pharmacy University of Wisconsin Press Consortium for History of Science, Technology and Medicine International Society for the History of Pharmacy

Help Save the History of Pharmacy - We're Hiring a Development Officer!

This role is at the heart of our mission to preserve pharmacy's rich history. Interested candidates should send a cover letter, resume, and two references to aihp@aihp.org with the subject line "Development Officer."

Visit https://aihp.org/aihp-development-officer-postition-open/ to find out more about us and the position.

12/25/2025

Step back in time with us! These photos from the late 1940s remind us that gretting cards, festive window displays, and spirited advertising have long been part of the holiday magic.

From our family to yours, wishing you joy, peace, and the happiest of holidays!

These images come from our Drug Topics Collection.