How did embalming education begin in the United States in 1882?

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surgeon; American Civil War — embalming An embalming surgeon at work on a soldier's body during the American Civil War.

In 1882, the foundation for formal mortuary education in the United States was established when Joseph H. Clarke, a coffin company salesman, recognized the potential and profitability of the practice. Clarke persuaded a staff member at a medical college in Cincinnati to institute a brief course in embalming, marking the beginning of professional training in the field.1