The first homeopathic medical college in the world, the “North American College of Homeopathic Medicine,” was organized in Allentown, Pa., in 1835. The second was the “Homeopathic Medical College of Philadelphia,” organized in 1848. The next in order was the “Washington Medical College of Philadelphia,” chartered May 2, 1853. This last named institution changed its name, July 17, 1867, to the “Hahnemann Medical College of Philadelphia.” The first of these institutions lasted a very short time; and by act of Legislature, dated April 2, 1869, the second and third were united under the title of the “Hahnemann Medical College of Pennsylvania.” This institution can thus claim to be the oldest of its kind in the world, and though not technically the first, it is practically so.
The first American grand opera, “Leonora,” was composed by William H. Fry, a Philadelphian; the words were written by his brother, Joseph R. Fry. It was produced at the Chestnut Street Theatre, June 4, 1845, by Pratt & Wemyss.
The first free college for orphan boys in the United States was established in Philadelphia under the will of Stephen Girard. Girard College was opened January 1, 1848, with a class of one hundred boys.
The first comic weekly in America was The John Donkey, edited by Thomas Dunn English and G. G. Foster. Illustrated by F. O. C. Darley and Henry L. Stephens. Published in Philadelphia by G. B. Zieber & Company, 1848.
“The Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania” is the oldest college in the world organized to train women in the medical profession. It was incorporated March 11, 1850.
The Spring Garden Institute, the first of the mechanics institutes in the United States, was chartered April 12, 1851. The corner-stone of the building was laid July 8, 1851, and the building was dedicated November 12, 1852.
The first English translation of the Hebrew Bible published in America was the result of eighteen years’ work of Rev. Isaac Leeser. It was published in Philadelphia in 1854.
The first Republican National Convention met in Musical Fund Hall, June 18, 1856, with Henry S. Lane, of Indiana, as Chairman. John C. Fremont was nominated for president of the United States, and William L. Dayton, of New Jersey, for vice-president.
The process of sugar-coating pills was begun in 1856 by William R. Warner & Co., manufacturing chemists of Philadelphia. This was done in a pan suspended by a chain over a charcoal fire. The original pan is still preserved by the firm.
The first society in America distinctively devoted to numismatic research was the “Numismatic Society,” organized in Philadelphia, December 27, 1857, by seven men. It received its charter February 19, 1858. On March 23, 1865, the name was changed to “The Numismatic and Antiquarian Society.”