Father John's Medicine
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 | |
| Type | cough medicine |
|---|---|
| Inventor | Carleton and Hovey |
| Inception | 1855 |
| Manufacturer | Father John's Medicine Company |
| Available | Available |
Father John's Medicine is a cough medicine that was first formulated in the United States in a Lowell, Massachusetts pharmacy in 1855 by Carleton and Hovey to give relief to ailing Father John O'Brien. The tonic was a non-alcoholic mix made of cod liver oil and had a licorice taste.[1]
Mr. Carleton and Mr. Hovey, using Father John as the spokesman, began to manufacture and mass-produce the medicine in Lowell, until the company was sold and moved to Cody, Wyoming in the early 1980s.[2]
Today, as sold, the active ingredient in Father John's Medicine is dextromethorphan hydrobromide.
Many of Father John's Medicine Company Records are housed at the University of Massachusetts Lowell's Special Collections.