John Uri Lloyd

Michael A. Flannery provides the first full-length biography of John Uri Lloyd (1849-1936), the man generally accepted as one of America's most influential pharmaceutical pioneers. Richly deserving of that appellation, Lloyd was a phytochemical researcher, pharmaceutical manufacturer, teacher, author, library founder, and leader among both professional pharmacists and the sectarian medical practitioners known as eclectics. Most of Lloyd's story takes place in the Cincinnati area, where the eclectics emerged in response to America's dissatisfaction with the harsh, heroic therapies characteristic of regular physicians, including the all-too-frequent and massive dosing with calomel (mercurous chloride). Instead of bloodletting and chemical cures, the eclectics stressed botanical remedies derived from natural sources. A prominent writer and scientist, Lloyd naturally associated with the most important figures of his time, from fellow pharmacists and writers to President Grover Cleveland. The world of science and that of the American eclectics played major roles in Lloyd's life. His story, as Flannery tells it, is one of failure and success, of professional myopia and scientific vision.