Elizabeth Gooking Greenleaf (November 11, 1681 – November 11, 1762) was the first female apothecary in the Thirteen Colonies. She is considered to be the first female pharmacist in the United States.
Biography
Elizabeth Gooking was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts Colony in 1681, the daughter of Samuel and Mary Gooking. She married minister, physician, and apothecary Daniel Greenleaf (a Harvard graduate) in 1699. The couple had twelve children.
In 1727, Elizabeth moved to Boston to open an apothecary shop. Though this was a role which had been exclusively performed by men, Massachusetts did not have any laws in place to prevent women from practicing. This made her the only woman among the 32 apothecaries working in New England at the time.
Later in 1727, Daniel moved to Boston to join her after resigning his post as pastor of the Congregational Church in Yarmouth. They ran the shop together for several decades.
Elizabeth Gooking Greenleaf died in 1762, followed by her husband in 1763.
She was one of 17 women to be honored by the American Pharmacists Association in 2012, for "contributions to the profession and advancement of women in pharmacy."
See also
References
- ^ Oakes, Rensselaer Allston (1905). Genealogical and Family History of the County of Jefferson, New York. Higginson Book Company. p. 241. Retrieved October 31, 2016 – via Google Books.
- ^ Henderson, Metta Lou; Worthen, Dennis B. (March 8, 2002). American Women Pharmacists: Contributions to the Profession. CRC Press. p. 2. ISBN 9780789010926. Retrieved October 31, 2016 – via Google Books.
- ^ Zebroski, Bob (August 7, 2015). A Brief History of Pharmacy: Humanity's Search for Wellness. Routledge. p. 115. ISBN 9781317413332. Retrieved October 31, 2016 – via Google Books.
- ^ Higby, Gregory (2001). Apothecaries and the Drug Trade: Essays in Celebration of the Work of David L. Cowen. Amer. Inst. History of Pharmacy. p. 24. ISBN 9780931292361. Retrieved October 31, 2016 – via Google Books.
- "Achievements of women in pharmacy lauded at Foundation dedication". American Pharmacists Association. November 1, 2012. Archived from the original on February 9, 2019. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
- 1681 births
- 1762 deaths
- 18th-century American scientists
- 18th-century American businesspeople
- 18th-century American businesswomen
- American apothecaries
- People from Cambridge, Massachusetts
- Women pharmacists
- People from colonial Massachusetts
- 18th-century American women scientists
- 18th-century American pharmacists