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William Boericke was an important figure in 19th and early 20th century homeopathy. He started his career at a homeopathic pharmacy in Philadelphia, co-owned by his uncle, Francis, Boericke & Tafel. After earning his M.D. at Hahnemann Medical College in 1880, William moved to San Francisco to open a practice there and subsequently purchased Boericke & Tafel’s San Francisco branch.
William had a long and successful practice, and was a leader in homeopathy in California. He was editor of the California Homoeopath and co-founded the Pacific Homoeopathic Medical College and Hahnemann Hospital in 1881. This institution was eventually incorporated into the University of California, where Boericke became the first professor of Homoeopathic Materia Medica and Therapeutics, a position he held for thirty years. He was also on the faculty of the Hahnemann Medical College in San Francisco.
He is perhaps best known as the author of Boericke’s Materia Medica, published in 1901. This pocket manual' was widely used among homeopathic physicians, acting as a guide to hundreds of remedies.