Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography/Maisch, John Michael

MAISCH, John Michael, pharmacist, b. in Hanau, Germany, 30 Jan., 1831. He was educated at the scientific schools of his native town, and after participating in the liberal agitations in Germany during 1848-'9 came to the United States in the latter year and acted as a clerk in Baltimore, Washington, Philadelphia, and New York. He was professor of materia medica and pharmacy in the New York college of pharmacy in 1861-'3, and then became chief chemist of the U. S. army laboratory in Philadelphia. This office he held until 1866, when he became the proprietor of a pharmaceutical establishment in Philadelphia, and professor of pharmacy at the Philadelphia college of pharmacy. Since 1867 he has been professor of materia medica and botany in that institution. Prof. Maisch disposed of his business in 1871, and during 1870-'81 had charge of the chemical laboratory of the Philadelphia college of pharmacy. In 1871 he received the degrees of Phar. M. and Phar. D. from the Maryland college of pharmacy. He has been very active in the American pharmaceutical association, and its permanent secretary since 1865, having charge of the editing of its annual volume of proceedings. He was also one of the committee of revision of the “U. S. Pharmacopœia.” His original investigations in technical pharmacy have been many, and have reference to improved processes of analysis, botanical methods, and chemical researches. These for the most part have been published in the “American Journal of Pharmacy,” of which he became editor in 1870. He has edited “Griffith's Universal Formulary” (3d ed., Philadelphia, 1874); “The National Dispensatory,” with Alfred M. Stillé (4 eds., 1879-'86); and “Manual Organic Materia Medica” (3 eds., 1882-'7).