British Society for the History of Medicine

Poynter lecture - Congresses - Officers - International Society - Affiliated societies - Constitution
Newsletters - John Blair Trust - Book reviews and notices - Medical history journals Links and information

Congress in Guildford, 31st August to 3rd September 2011

At the University of Surrey.
See Congress page or Guilford congress poster (Word document)

Autumn meetings of affiliated societies

These are initial notices of meetings. Check the websites of the societies for full details in due course.

Apothecaries - 4 Nov 2010

Tuberculosis in ancient and mediaeval times by Piers Mitchell, Leverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies, University of Cambridge.
Piers Mitchell is a paleopathologist, medical historian and orthopaedic surgeon whose research investigates health, disease and medical treatment in the past. He is the author of Medicine in the Crusades: Warfare, Wounds and the Medieval Surgeon (CUP 2004), and Parasites in Past Civilizations and their Impact Upon Health (CUP, forthcoming).
Flavell Lecture of the Faculty of the History and Philosophy of Medicine and Pharmacy, The Worshipful Society of Apothecaries of London.
6 pm at Apothecaries Hall, with tea at 5.30.

Royal Society of Medicine

6 Oct 2010, James Lefanu on Neuroscience and the five cardinal mysteries of the mind.
3 Nov 2010, Emily Mayhew on Getting it right the second time - how the medics of the Great War changed military medicine for ever (so far)
These are evening meetings at 1 Wimpole Street, London W1G 0AE.
Note that booking arrangements for RSM meetings have changed. For registration in about the last month before the meeting there is a charge, even for RSM members. Before that there is "Early bird" registration - free for RSM members, reduced for others.

British Society for the History of Radiology - visit to Roentgen Museum

Adrian Thomas is organising a visit to the German Roentgen Museum at Remscheid on the 5-7 November 2010. See flier. For more information and to register your interest, please contact Liz Appleyard, Events Officer of the British Institute of Radiology, at Liz.Appleyard@bir.org.uk.

Report of 14th Poynter Lecture - 24th March 2010

at The Wellcome Building Conference Centre, Euston Road, London

Promiscuous & Inattentive Proceedings
The ethics and etiquette of patient care in the Georgian era
By Dr Ruth Richardson
Visiting Professor to Hong Kong University in Humanities and an Affiliated Scholar, in History and Philosophy of Science, University of Cambridge
See Poynter lecture page for a report

The history of skin, its diseases and their treatment - conference at Birmingham

The History of Medicine Unit at the University of Birmingham has announced an international conference Scratching the Surface to be held in Birmingham on 29th-30th October 2010. See advance notices or conference web page Scratching the Surface

2009 Web newsletter

Web newsletter for 2009 is available with Congress report, officers reports, and information from affiliated societies.

Congress in Belfast, 2nd to 5th September 2009

The 23rd Congress was held at Stranmillis University College, Belfast Wed 2nd to Sat 5th September 2009; we have a report of this Belfast Congress with links to programme, abstracts of papers, and abstracts of posters.
We congratulate David Sawbridge of Edinburgh University on winning the prize for the best student presentation, and Tharu Tharakan of Imperial College London on winning the prize for the best student poster.

John Blair Trust

The John Blair Trust provides grants for students' research in the history of medicine and allied fields. Such applications might include funding up to £100 for necessary travel, photocopying, research fees and any other incidental or enabling expenses. Send application form with brief details by post or email.

Book review and notice

We have information on books - review of "The anatomy of Robert Knox - Murder, Mad Science and Medical Regulation in Nineteenth-Century Edinburgh" by Alan Bates, Sussex Academic Press.

The British Society for the History of Medicine was formed in 1965, by representatives of the Section of the History of Medicine of the Royal Society of Medicine, the Faculty of the History and Philosophy of Medicine and Pharmacy of the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries of London, The Scottish Society for the History of Medicine and the Osler Club of London. It now has a number of other Affiliated societies. Its objectives are to hold a biennial congress, to arrange the biennial Poynter Lecture in alternate years with the congress, to represent the United Kingdom in the affairs of the International Society for the History of Medicine and to encourage study, teaching and research in medical history. The archives of the Society are held in the archives of the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries of London; please contact the BSHM secretary if you wish to see them.

The Society has no direct individual membership, membership of an affiliated society automatically makes one a member. It is not necessary to be a member to attend the Poynter Lecture or Congress. It is governed by an Officers and Representatives Committee, which meets annually and is comprised of the officers and one representative of each affiliated society or two if its membership exceeds one hundred. The Society publishes the annual BSHM News, which provides a link between its affiliated societies and a forum for the exchange of ideas, a noticeboard for meetings and queries, and the occasional book review. From 2007 the BSHM News will be on this website.

The Society would be glad to have more affiliated societies - please contact the secretary for details of affiliation (see Officers for contact details).

Web pages up to 2002 were held at University of Birmingham Centre for the History of Medicine. Pages were then held at http://www.hawgood.co.uk/bshm/ but are now all on www.bshm.org.uk.

This page by David Hawgood was amended 25 Aug 2010