Funeral director

In 1895, the trade magazine The Embalmers' Monthly put out a call for a new name for the profession in the US to distance itself from the title undertaker, a term that was then perceived to have been tarnished by its association with death.

[1][2] People's need to respect the dead and their survivors is as ancient as civilization itself, and death care is among the world's oldest professions.

Only royalty, nobility and wealthy commoners could afford the service, considered by some to be essential for accessing eternal life; the poorer performed very basic intentional mummification or simply buried the body in a dry spot hoping it would naturally mummify.

These purely ceremonial undertakers of the day nonetheless had great religious and societal impact; a larger number of actors indicated greater power and wealth for the deceased and their family.

Dutch scientist Frederik Ruysch's work attracted the attention of royalty and legitimized postmortem anatomy[clarification needed].

[6] Most importantly, Ruysch developed injected substances and waxes that could penetrate the smallest vessels of the body and seal them against decay.

[5] Historically, from ancient Egypt to Greece and Rome to the early United States, women typically did all of the preparation of dead bodies.

[citation needed] All of the national organizations offer voluntary membership of "best practice" standards schemes, which includes regular premises inspection and adherence to a specific code of conduct.

These organizations help funeral directors demonstrate that they are committed to continuing professional development, and they have no issue with regulation should it become a legal requirement.