Medico-Philosophical Society

Context

Creator(s): Medico-Philosophical Society

• Administrative History ↴

  The Medico-Philosophical Society was established in 1756 by Dr John Rutty, Charles Smith and others, as a small private society which meet once a month to discuss scientific papers, followed by a dinner. Under the rules of the Society the papers presented could cover natural history, natural philosophy, medicine, as well as politics and ethical subjects. There was an especially focus on bringing papers on a 'new discovery or observation made by the writer, or by some other person whose works may have fallen into his way, & not generally known by other members'. The focus of all papers was to be on cases, facts and experiments, rather than hypothetical discourses. The memoirs or minutes of the first incarnation of the Society continued up to 1784, although the Society itself seems to have carried on in some form until 1831. In 1856, attempts we made to reform the Medico-Philosophical Society on the centenary of the Society's foundation. This second incarnation of the Society ran from 1856 to at least 1939. Unlike the first Society the minutes show less of a focus of the sharing of new ideas and research and more on the social aspects. One of the chief concerns of the early years was the collection of photographs of all members for the Members Album. Like the first Society membership was by nomination and election.

• Archival History ↴

  The papers of the first Society were deposited in the archive on the winding up of the Society in 1831, with the papers of the second Society being added at a later date.

• Immediate Source Acquisition ↴

  Donation