Alfred Newton Richards (March 22, 1876 – March 24, 1966) was an American pharmacologist.

Richards was born in Stamford, New York

Stamford, New York

Stamford may refer to two municipalities in Delaware County, New York in the United States:*Stamford , New York*Stamford , New York, located entirely within the town...

. He served as chairman of the University of Pennsylvania

University of Pennsylvania

The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...

 School of Medicine

University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine

The Perelman School of Medicine , formerly the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, was founded in 1765, making it the oldest American medical school. As part of the University of Pennsylvania, it is located in the University City section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is widely...

's Department of Pharmacology from 1910 to 1946; thereafter he became Professor Emeritus. He also served as Vice-President in charge of Medical Affairs for the University from 1939 to 1948. In 1941 he was appointed as Chairman of the Committee on Medical Research, an office founded by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. This office was officially terminated in 1946, and soon after he was elected as President of the National Academy of Sciences

United States National Academy of Sciences

The National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...

, a position he held for three years. In 1948, President Herbert Hoover

Herbert Hoover

Herbert Clark Hoover was the 31st President of the United States . Hoover was originally a professional mining engineer and author. As the United States Secretary of Commerce in the 1920s under Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, he promoted partnerships between government and business...

 appointed Richards to the Medical Affairs Task Force of the Commission on the Organization of the Executive Branch of the Government; that same year he became a member of the board of directors for Merck & Co.

Merck & Co.

Merck & Co., Inc. , also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme or MSD outside the United States and Canada, is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. The Merck headquarters is located in Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, an unincorporated area in Readington Township...

, for whom he had consulted since 1931. That same year, Richards also became an Associate Trustee of the University of Pennsylvania. The University of Pennsylvania's Richards Medical Research Laboratories

Richards Medical Research Laboratories

The Richards Medical Research Laboratories, located on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S., were designed by architect Louis Kahn and are considered to have been a breakthrough in his career. The building is configured as a group of laboratory towers...

 was named for him.

Awards and honors

• Abraham Flexner Award of the Association of American Medical Colleges
• Gerhard Medal of the Pathological Society of Philadelphia
• Kober Medal of the Association of American Physicians
• John Scott Medal of the City of Philadelphia
• the gold medal of the New York Academy of Medicine
• Keyes Medal of the Association of Genito-Urinary Surgeons
• Philadelphia Bok Award
• Procter Award of the Philadelphia Drug Exchange
• Guggenheim Cup Award
• Lasker Award
• Kovalenko Medal of the National Academy of Sciences
  United States National Academy of Sciences
  The National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...
  
  .

Degrees

Doctor of Science

Doctor of Science

Doctor of Science , usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D. or Dr.Sc., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries Doctor of Science is the name used for the standard doctorate in the sciences, elsewhere the Sc.D...

• University of Pennsylvania
• Western Reserve University
• Yale University
  Yale University
  Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
  
  
• Harvard University
  Harvard University
  Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
  
  
• Columbia University
  Columbia University
  Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
  
  
• Williams College
  Williams College
  Williams College is a private liberal arts college located in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams. Originally a men's college, Williams became co-educational in 1970. Fraternities were also phased out during this...
  
  
• Princeton University
  Princeton University
  Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
  
  
• New York University
  New York University
  New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
  
  

Doctor of Laws

• University of Edinburgh
• Johns Hopkins University
  Johns Hopkins University
  The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
  
  

Doctor of Medicine

Doctor of Medicine

Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...

• University of Pennsylvania
• University of Louvain
  Catholic University of Leuven
  The Catholic University of Leuven, or of Louvain, was the largest, oldest and most prominent university in Belgium. The university was founded in 1425 as the University of Leuven by John IV, Duke of Brabant and approved by a Papal bull by Pope Martin V.During France's occupation of Belgium in the...