Milli Mücadele Döneminde Samsun’da Kurulmuş Bir Eczacı Derneği: Anadolu Türk Eczacı Birliği (1922)
Eyüp Talha KocacıkOsmanlı İmparatorluğu’ndaki eczacıların mesleki örgütlenmesi 6 Kasım 1863 tarihinde Société de Pharmacie de Constantinople (Cemiyet-i Eczacıyan der Asitâne-i Aliyye, Dersaadet Eczacı Cemiyeti) isimli derneğin kurulmasıyla başlamıştır. Ülkedeki sivil eczacıların büyük çoğunluğu gayrimüslim olduğundan, eczacı dernekleri de gayrimüslimlerin idaresinde gelişmiştir. İkinci Meşrutiyet’in ilânından sonra eczacılar içerisinde dernekleşme faaliyeti farklı bir safhaya geçmiş, 20 Ağustos 1908 tarihinde Türk ve Müslüman eczacılar tarafından İstanbul’da, Osmanlı Eczacı İttihad Cemiyeti ismiyle bir dernek kurulmuştur. İstanbul dışında dernekleşme daha geç başlamıştır. İkinci Meşrutiyet’in (1908) ilanı ile birlikte Selanik’te, Edirne’de, İzmir’de, Samsun’da ve Trabzon’da birer eczacı derneği kurulmuştur. Bu makalede 1922 yılında Samsun’da, Sivas 3. Kolordu Başeczacısı Yarbay Eyüp Sabri’nin [Bülgin] başkanlığında kurulmuş olan Anadolu Türk Eczacı Birliği incelenecektir. Birliğin kuruluş amacı, yapısı ve çalışmaları incelenmiş, kurucularının biyografileri ve derneğin yayın organı olan Genç Eczacı dergisi üzerine bilgiler verilmiştir.
A Pharmacist Association Established in Samsun During the Turkish War of Independence: The Turkish Pharmacists Union of Anatolia (1922)
Eyüp Talha KocacıkPharmacists in the Ottoman Empire organized for the first time on November 6, 1863 and established the Société de Pharmacie de Constantinople (Cemiyet-i Eczacıyan der Asitâne-i Aliyye, Dersaadet Eczacı Cemiyeti). These Ottoman pharmacist associations flourished under the control of civilian pharmacists, with the vast majority in the Empire being non-Muslim. After the declaration of the Second Constitutional Monarchy in 1908, societal activities among pharmacists reached a new stage, and Turkish and Muslim pharmacists leagued together to found the Osmanlı Eczacı İttihad Cemiyeti [Society for the Union of Ottoman Pharmacists] in Istanbul on August 20, 1908. The establishment of pharmaceutical societies outside Istanbul had started, albeit rather late. The proclamation of the Second Constitution paved the way for the establishment of pharmacist associations in Thessaloniki, Edirne, İzmir, Samsun, and Trabzon. This article will focus on the Anadolu Türk Eczacı Birliği [Turkish Pharmacists Union of Anatolia], which was established in Samsun in 1922 during the Turkish War of Independence. Its founding president was Lieutenant Colonel Eyüp Sabri Bülgin, Chief Pharmacist of the Third Army Corps in Sivas. The present study will provide information on its activities and introduce its founders, as well as its journal, Genç Eczacı [Young Pharmacist].
Pharmacies were first established in Samsun in the 1880s by non-Muslim Ottoman pharmacists. Samsun’s first Turkish pharmacist, Ali Rahmi Taşan, didn’t open the pharmacy called Osmanlı Şifa Eczanesi until 1908. Following the proclamation of the Constitutional Monarchy, a pharmaceutical society was established in 1910 in Samsun, which had 20 pharmacies. It was called Osmanlı Eczacılar İttihad Cemiyeti [Society for the Union of Ottoman Pharmacists]. The society decided that pharmacies would be closed on Sundays and would implement shift work.
In the later years of the Turkish War of Independence (1919-1923), more precisely on October 5, 1922, pharmacists in Samsun leagued together once again to establish the Anadolu Türk Eczacı Birliği [Turkish Pharmacists Union of Anatolia]. The Turkish War of Independence, which had started in 1919, should have encouraged its establishment. The founding President of the Union was Lieutenant Colonel Eyüp Sabri Bülgin, Chief Pharmacist of the Third Army Corps in Sivas. Its Secretary General was pharmacist Emin Refik Bey. Having Anatolia and Turkish embedded in the name of the union was done to support the initiatives that had been undertaken toward becoming a nation-state. Emphasis was placed on having the association involve all Turkish pharmacists in Anatolia. Any pharmacist with a diploma could become a member without discrimination, regardless of if one was a freelance, public, or warehouse pharmacist. The union also had a representative in Istanbul.
Soon after the union’s founding, Fridays were declared a holiday, and shift work was introduced. Requests were made to the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare on issues concerning all the pharmacists in Anatolia. The union aimed to increase pharmacists’ professional knowledge in light of scientific developments and to develop the rules members of the profession were to follow. In order to serve this purpose, a publication was launched in May 1923 titled Genç Eczacı (Young Pharmacists). At least four issues of this monthly were published. The publisher and director of the periodical was Emin Refik Bey, the founding Secretary General of the Union. The headquarters of the monthly was Kamer Eczanesi [The Pharmacy of Kamer] and was owned by Ahmet Cevat Akıska, who would later be elected Secretary General.
Founded in 1909 in Istanbul, Devlet-i Osmaniye Eczacılar Cemiyeti [Pharmacists’ Society of the Ottoman Empire] had not been shut down during the Balkan Wars or World War I, but was unable to operate. After the Turkish Pharmacists Union of Anatolia was founded in Samsun, the members of the society in Istanbul changed its name in 1922 to Türkiye Eczacıları Cemiyeti [Pharmacists’ Society of Türkiye] in nationalistic solidarity as a result of the expansion of the Turkish War of Independence. The change in name started a legitimacy discussion between the Turkish Pharmacists’ Union of Anatolia and the Pharmacists’ Association of Türkiye. The main issue of the discussion was which association represented all pharmacists in Türkiye. Despite heavy correspondence and bilateral meetings, members were unable to reach a definitive conclusion. As these discussions went on, Turkish pharmacists in Izmir founded an association called Türk Eczacılar Cemiyeti [Society of Turkish Pharmacists] on June 1, 1923. The pharmacists of İzmir may have taken the union founded in Samsun as an example. The society in İzmir fostered ideas similar to the unions that had been established in Samsun and İstanbul.
Whether the Turkish Pharmacists’ Union of Anatolia was shut down or not is unknown. According to local newspapers in Samsun, however, the association is known to have been active in 1926, with no information after this date being found. The establishment of Türk Farmakoloğ Birliği [Turkish Union of Pharmacology] was established in 1930 and involved pharmacists from all over the country. It functioned as a professional association for a while, which indicates that the Turkish Pharmacists’ Union of Anatolia had stopped its activities between 1926-1930.
The Turkish Pharmacists’ Union of Anatolia was the first pharmacist association founded solely by Turkish pharmacists, as well as the first pharmaceutical association bearing the epithet of Turkish in its name. According to its regulations, the association stipulated that only Turkish pharmacists could become members. Also, all Turkish pharmacists with a diploma in Turkey were welcomed as members.