OHIO STATE MEDICAL ASSOCIATION
According to the medical archives of Ohio, on May 14, 1846, "a number of medical gentlemen," 25 in all, assembled at the Neil House in Columbus, adopted a constitution, and organized the Ohio State Medical Society, now the Ohio State Medical Association. In 1846, the situation in Ohio with respect to medicine was anything but bright and hopeful. The state was overrun with quacks, charlatans, and poorly prepared physicians. Attempts to control this situation during the previous decade had failed. Confronted with this crisis, the group of 25 physicians, holding degrees from recognized medical schools of the time, met to form an organization for fostering legislation to safeguard the public against knavery and ignorance and to initiate activities to elevate the standards of the profession in Ohio. Before 1846 there had been no real medical organization in Ohio. A legislative enactment in 1811 created five