Swindling

J. A. Wales. “The Philadelphia Physician-Factory,” Puck, April 14, 1880.

This cartoon satirizes the Eclectic Medical College of Pennsylvania, a diploma mill selling fake medical degrees in the later decades of the 19th century. “Professor Grind-Em-Out” is, no doubt, the school’s “Dean,” John Buchanan, who was finally arrested in 1880, due in part to his exposure in the popular media. Other items relating to the school, including a view of the building and list of courses for the 1865-66 semester, appear below.

Eclectic Medical College of Pennsylvania. Sessions of 1865-’66. [Philadelphia, 1865]. Gift of William H. Helfand.

In a bid to stay competitive in the saturated market of Philadelphia medical schools, the formerly-reputable Eclectic Medical College of Pennsylvania (est. 1851) began in 1864 to make false claims, such as inflating rates of matriculation and reporting large but phantom endowments. The school had become nothing more than a diploma mill, adopting legitimate business strategies such as offering bulk discounts and hiring sales agents. The “Dean” of the school, John Buchanan, was finally arrested in 1880.

Advertisement for Eclectic Medical College of Philadelphia. [Philadelphia, 1865?]

John Buchanan. A Practical Treatise on the Diseases of Children. Philadelphia: John Buchanan, 1866.