Norman Farnsworth

Norman Robert Farnsworth (March 23, 1930 – September 20, 2011) was a pharmacognosist, professor, and author.

Early life and education

He received his bachelor's in 1953 and master's in 1955 in pharmacy at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy, and his Ph.D. in Pharmacognosy from the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy in 1959, where he helped establish the Pharmacognosy Department, became its first chair, and taught until 1970.

Military service

An army veteran of the Korean War, Farnsworth served as a Private First Class and eventually as a Corporal in the Third Infantry Division, Seventh Regimental Combat Team, nicknamed the "Fire Brigade" in Korea. He was seriously wounded in the winter of 1950. Because of his service during the Battle of the Chosin Reservoir, he received the Bronze Star Medal with a "V" device, which is the U. S. military's fourth-highest award for valor. He was also awarded four oak leaf clusters, representative of four additional awards of the Bronze Star medal, the Combat Medical Badge, and the Korean Ribbon with Four Battle Stars.

Career

He was a founding member of the American Society of Pharmacognosy in 1959. He was also the founding director of the Program for Collaborative Research in the Pharmaceutical Sciences at University of Illinois at Chicago.