The Scottish Society of the History of Medicine was founded in 1948 at the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.  The medical historian, Dr Douglas Guthrie, author of A HISTORY OF MEDICINE, was elected as first President.

The aims of the Society are to further the general history of medicine, with particular attention to Scottish Medicine.

The Society is registered as a Scottish Charity no. CR43764. 

The Society holds three ordinary meetings each year on Saturday afternoons in different centres throughout Scotland, with occasional visits to places of special interest. There is also an annual lecture and dinner in honour of Dr Haldane P Tait, a former President and long-serving Secretary to the Society.

Meetings are social events with lunch normally followed by two papers on various aspects of medical history.  Guests are very welcome. The Society’s published Proceedings and newsletters are distributed free to members, and are requested by kindred societies and archives worldwide.

A bequest by the late Dr Guthrie enables the Society to support new work on the history of Scottish Medicine, by making financial contributions towards research and/or publishing costs. Applications for Guthrie Trust funds are considered twice yearly. Details from the Honorary Secretary as above.

The Society is affiliated to the British Society of the History of Medicine.  It hosted the British Congress in Edinburgh in 1986, the proceedings of which were published as THE INFLUENCE OF SCOTTISH MEDICINE (Parthenon Press, 1988).

Acting on behalf of the British Society, the Scottish Society was also host to the 34th International Congress on the History of Medicine in Glasgow, 1994.

Through its affiliation with the British Society of the History of Medicine, the Scottish Society also has links with many other kindred societies in Britain and abroad e.g. the Wellcome Trust (http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/en/1/homgov.html).

Dental members may also wish to know of the History of Dentistry Research Group, Glasgow University, whose website is http://www.rcpsglasg.ac.uk/hdrg/home.htm