The University of Cincinnati College of Medicine was founded January 19, 1819, when frontier physician Daniel Drake, MD, received a charter from the Ohio State Legislature to establish the Medical College of Ohio in Cincinnati. Twenty-four students attended the first class in 1820, and on April 4, 1821, seven students received medical degrees at the college’s first commencement. The next 30 years were difficult for the Medical College of Ohio. The college lost many of its students during Cincinnati’s two-year cholera outbreak beginning in 1832 and almost collapsed in 1835. Despite near constant troubles, the college continued. The second half of the 19th century were days of prosperity and prominence for the Medical College of Ohio. Classes grew steadily, and disagreements among faculty and the college’s board were minimal. An influx of outstanding medical teachers and clinicians raised the national stature of the college.
