The Royal Geographical Society (RGS) was founded in 1830 as the Royal Geographical Society of London. Its aim was the advancement of Geographical Science. The Society was granted a Royal Charter by Queen Victoria in 1859. In 1995 the RGS merged with the Institute of British Geographers (IBG) to create the Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers). The RGS has a board of trustees known as the Council, who are responsible for the Society's governance. The Council also has committees that consider matters of strategy and implementation relating to their specific areas of expertise and which advise the Council and Society staff. These committees change over the years. The committees at the time of writing are: Finance, Education, Expeditions and Fieldwork, Information Services, and Research and Higher Education.
The Royal Geographical Society (RGS) was founded in 1830 as the Royal Geographical Society of London. Its aim was the advancement of Geographical Science. The Society was granted a Royal Charter by Queen Victoria in 1859. In 1995 the RGS merged with the Institute of British Geographers (IBG) to create the Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers).
The Raleigh Traveller's Club was founded by Captain Arthur de Capell Broke and was the immediate forerunner of the Royal Geographical Society. The Raleigh Club was a dining club composed solely of travelers. The world was to be mapped out into divisions and each division should be represented by a member so the Club collectively should have visited nearly every part of the globe. The first meeting of the Club was held 7 Feb 1827. At a meeting of that club in 1830, The Geographical Society of London was formed, subsequently becoming the Royal Geographical Society. After the formation of the Geographical Society the Raleigh Club continued to flourish, becoming more and more closely connected to the Society until 1854 when the affiliation became complete and the Club was renamed the Geographical Club. The Geographical Club still exists at the time of writing and has kept close links with the RGS-IBG.
The Kosmos Club, now defunct, was another dining club connected to the Royal Geographical Society.
The Royal Geographical Society (RGS) was founded in 1830 as the Royal Geographical Society of London. Its aim was the advancement of Geographical Science. The Society was granted a Royal Charter by Queen Victoria in 1859. In 1995 the RGS merged with the Institute of British Geographers (IBG) to create the Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers).
The Royal Geographical Society was based in 21 Regent Street, 1830-1839; 3 Waterloo Place, 1839-1854; 15 Whitehall Place, 1854-1870; 1 Saville Row, 1870-1913; and its present home in Lowther Lodge , Kensington Gore in 1913.
In 1887 the President first suggested to the Council that women may be allowed to become members of the Royal Geographical Society, however the subject was soon dropped. Two years later a Fellow revived the question but it was again refused. In 1892 the Scottish Geographical Society, which had allowed female members and fellows since its inception, established a branch in London - this was a rival to the Royal Geographical Society and as a result they granted access to their meetings to members of all British geographical societies. That a woman should have rights in the RGS by belonging to another body was an anomaly, and on 4 Jul 1892 the President moved in the Council that women should be eligible for Fellowship. This was carried at once and almost unanimously. However there were dissenters among the Fellows and on 24 April 1893 the decision to allow female Fellows was reversed, although the 22 women who had already been made Fellows were retained. This provoked controversy among the Fellows and another Special General Meeting was held in July, but the proposal for women Fellows was again lost. It was not until a Special General Meeting on 15 Jan 1913 that women were again admitted as Fellows.
The first evening meeting of the Royal Geographical Society was held 8 Nov 1830. The meetings were held on a Monday evening and were a chance for members and Fellows to meet and to read papers. The principal papers read at the evening meetings were published in the RGS Journal. The evening meetings are still held to the time of writing and are now called the 'Monday night lectures'.
In 1977 the Royal Geographical Society organised a lecture programme to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accession to the throne.
The Royal Geographical Society (RGS) was founded in 1830 as the Royal Geographical Society of London. Its aim was the advancement of Geographical Science. The Society was granted a Royal Charter by Queen Victoria in 1859. In 1995 the RGS merged with the Institute of British Geographers (IBG) to create the Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers). Since 1831 the Society has published a Journal, initially containing the principal papers read at the Society's evening meetings and abstracts of Geographical works published elsewhere, it is now a refereed academic publication. The journal has appeared under various titles: Journal of the RGS (JRGS) 1831-1880; Proceedings of the RGS (PRGS) 1857-1878; Proceedings of the RGS (New Series) (PRGS (NS)) 1879-1892; Supplementary Papers (1882-1893); and the Geographical Journal (GJ) 1893 onwards. At first edited by the Secretary of the Society, the preparation and editing of these journals is currently carried out by the Geographical Journal Office.
The Royal Geographical Society (RGS) was founded in 1830 as the Royal Geographical Society of London. Its aim was the advancement of Geographical Science. The Society was granted a Royal Charter by Queen Victoria in 1859. In 1995 the RGS merged with the Institute of British Geographers (IBG) to create the Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers).
The Dispensary was founded in 1770 as the General Dispensary, Aldersgate Street, and was also known as the Aldersgate Dispensary. It was renamed the Royal General Dispensary in 1844 and moved from 36 Aldersgate Street to 25 Bartholomew Close in 1850. The premises were rebuilt in 1879. In 1932, the Dispensary made arrangements for its medical and secretarial work to be undertaken by St Bartholomew's Hospital. The building in Bartholomew's Close was destroyed by enemy action in 1941. In 1948, the business of the Dispensary was finally wound up and amalgamated with St Bartholomew's Hospital.
The London School of Medicine for Women was the first medical school in Britain to allow women to train to become fully qualified doctors. Many pioneering women doctors trained and worked at the School, including Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, Louisa Aldrich-Blake, and Mary Scharlieb.
Until 1874 it was almost impossible for women to train as doctors in Britain. Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, who was Dean of the School from 1883-1903, was actually the first woman to qualify in Medicine, but as soon as she had done so, in 1865, the loophole which allowed her to do so was closed, preventing others from following in her footsteps.
The London School of Medicine for Women was set up by a group of pioneering women physicians, led by Sophia Jex-Blake, who had been expelled from Edinburgh University after beginning their medical training, together with some male doctors who supported women's entry into the medical profession. It was the first medical school in Britain to admit women, and the only school to do so until 1886.
The School opened in 1874, in a small house in Henrietta Street, off Brunswick Square. At first, students were taught in laboratories and classrooms at the School by a group of male lecturers. Then in 1877, an agreement was reached with the Royal Free Hospital which allowed students at the London School of Medicine for Women to complete their clinical studies on its wards. The Royal Free Hospital was the first teaching hospital in London to admit women for training. In recognition of this relationship, in 1898 the School changed its name to The London (Royal Free Hospital) School of Medicine for Women.
The School building was rebuilt and enlarged in 1898. The main entrance was moved to the Hunter Street side of the building, and the address changed to reflect this. The School was further enlarged in 1914, when the number of women wishing to study medicine made it necessary to practically double the number of laboratories and lecture rooms. At this time the school had over 300 students, making it the largest of the women's university colleges in Britain. In just 40 years the number of women on the medical register had increased from two to 1000, 600 of whom were graduates of the School.
The School was noted for its strong links with other countries, beginning in 1890 when the first Indian female student enrolled. Many students went abroad to help train female doctors in cultures where women could not be seen by male doctors. This part of the School's mission was encouraged by Queen Victoria, who felt very strongly that all her subjects in the Empire should have access to proper medical treatment.
Increasing numbers of students were admitted, particularly when the First World War took many male medical students overseas. Past students of the School did valiant work for the war effort at this time, voluntarily staffing all-female medical units across Europe, and female medical students who were refugees from European universities also joined the School temporarily.
The School remained women-only until 1948, when all medical schools became co-educational under the newly inaugurated National Health Service (NHS). This necessitated another change of name for the School, to the Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine.
By the 1950s, the School was pre-eminent in medical research, known particularly for its Medical Unit, renal unit and haemophilia centre.
When the Royal Free Hospital moved to Hampstead in 1974, the school followed, finally moving all its activities from Hunter Street by 1983.
After World War Two the School was threatened by three successive government reports (in 1946, 1968 and 1980), either with closure or with merger with another school. Each time the School rejected the proposals. In 1998 however, the School finally merged with University College London to form a new school, the Royal Free and University College Medical School. In October 2008 it was officially renamed UCL Medical School.
The Royal Free Hospital was founded in 1828 to provide free hospital care to those who could not afford treatment. The title 'Royal' was granted by Queen Victoria in 1837 in recognition of the hospital's work with cholera victims.
For many years the Royal Free was the only hospital in London to offer facilities for clinical instruction to women. This began a close association with the London School of Medicine for Women, later renamed the Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine.
The Royal Free moved to its present site in the mid 1970s, bringing together the old Royal Free Hospital in Gray's Inn Road with the Lawn Road, New End and Hampstead General hospitals.
In April 1991 the Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust became one of the first trusts established under the provisions of the NHS and Community Care Act 1990.
Source: http://www.royalfree.nhs.uk
The Royal Free Hospital was founded in 1828 in Greville St, Hatton Garden, London, by William Marsden, a young surgeon from Yorkshire. He found a young girl dying on the steps of St Andrew's Church, Holborn, because she could not afford admission to hospital and the only other way for the poor to obtain treatment was to be personally recommended by someone who subscribed to that hospital. The experience touched Marsden so much that he decided to open a hospital which would be free to all: poverty and sickness would be the only passports required. The hospital was originally called the "London General Institution for the Gratuitous Cure of Malignant Diseases." It was initially just a dispensary, with no in-patient beds, and in 1832 was the only London hospital to treat victims of the cholera epidemic. Soon afterwards the name was changed to the London Free Hospital, and in 1837 when Queen Victoria became patron the name was changed to the Royal Free Hospital. In 1844 the Royal Free moved to larger premises, a former army barracks in Grays' Inn Road.
In 1877 the Royal Free became a teaching hospital when it allowed female medical students from the London School of Medicine for Women (founded 1874) to receive clinical instruction on the wards. In 1889 the School of Nursing was started. Development had been ongoing since the move to Grays' Inn Road, and the new front building was opened in 1895, the same year that the Royal Free became the first hospital to appoint an almoner, forerunner of the medical social worker. During World War One the new outpatient block was requisitioned as an officers ward, and many staff and students went abroad to treat soldiers. After the war, it became necessary to equip the hospital in line with advances in medicine to include a maternity wing, children's ward, nurses' home and dental clinic. Given the general poverty in England at this time, and the fact that the hospital was still dependent on voluntary contributions, much of this was made possible by the generosity of three men, Lord Riddell, Alfred Langton and Sir Albert Levy, who saved the hospital from near-closure.
For much of World War Two the hospital escaped serious damage, but in 1944 it was hit by a flying bomb. Although there were not many casualties, extensive damage resulted and only 4 beds remained useable immediately afterwards. This led to a desperate need for more beds. The 1944 Goodenough report on the future of medical education then recommended that the Royal Free move to north London, because there were too many teaching hospitals in central London when most Londoners were now living in the suburbs; also the Royal Free was too small to provide enough beds to teach students satisfactorily, but there was no room in central London for it to expand. In 1947, the Dean of LSMW, Katharine Lloyd-Williams, suggested the site of the North-Western Fever Hospital in Lawn Road, Hampstead as an ideal location for the new Royal Free.
On the inception of the National Health Service (NHS) in 1948, the Royal Free formed a group with this and other smaller hospitals in order to provide enough beds for student teaching. These others were the Childrens' Hospital Hampstead, the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital, the Hampstead General and the London Fever Hospital. Between 1948 and 1958 there was much debate about whether The Royal Free should stay in central London or move to Hampstead, but in 1958 the first plans for the Royal Free on its present site in Pond Street, Hampstead were produced. Although the hospital scheme was unpopular with local residents construction finally began in 1968, the same year that Coppetts Wood and New End Hospital joined the group. Queen Mary's Maternity Home joined in 1972. The new Royal Free was the most modern hospital in Europe, and the first to be designed with the aid of a computer. In 1974 it opened to its first patient, a London taxi driver, and in 1978, the 150th anniversary of hospital's foundation, it was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II.
The Hospital was administered by a Committee of Management, which reported to the Court of Governors. Day-to-day matters were dealt with by the Weekly Board. After the establishment of the National Health Service in 1948, the Hospital was part of the Royal Free Group, with the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital in Euston Road, the London Fever Hospital, Islington, (which became the Liverpool Road Branch of the RFH), the North-Western Fever Hospital, Hampstead (which became the Lawn Road Branch of the RFH), the Childrens' Hospital Hampstead, and the Hampstead General. The Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital left the Group in 1962, and the Coppetts Wood and New End Hospitals joined in 1968. Internal management of the RFH was in the hands of the Royal Free Hospital Committee, which was responsible to the Board for day-to-day administration.
The Royal Free Hospital began life as a small dispensary in Holborn. It was founded by William Marsden in 1828, to provide free medical care to those who could not afford it (at that time, people seeking hospital treatment had to pay a fee, or provide a letter of recommendation.) Thus, it was the first free hospital in London. The title 'Royal' was granted by Queen Victoria in 1837, in recognition of the hospital's work during the 19th century cholera epidemics, when it was the only London hospital to accept cases.
Demand for free hospital treatment was high, so in 1844 the Royal Free moved to larger premises, a former army barracks in Gray's Inn Road, where it stayed until the early 1970s. In 1877, the Royal Free became a teaching hospital and made history by becoming the first hospital in Britain to accept women as medical students. This began a close association with the London School of Medicine for Women, later renamed the Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine. The Royal Free School of Nursing was started in 1889, and in 1895 the Royal Free became the first hospital to appoint an almoner, forerunner of the modern social worker. After the Second World War, The Royal Free continued to innovate, leading the way in treatments for kidney and liver diseases, haemophilia and cancer.
On the inception of the National Health Service in 1948, the Royal Free joined with several smaller hospitals including the Children's Hospital Hampstead, the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital, the North-Western Hospital, Hampstead General Hospital and the London Fever Hospital to form the Royal Free Group. In 1968, Coppett's Wood and New End Hospital joined the Royal Free Group and, in 1972, Queen Mary's House.
Survival of records from the Gray's Inn Road era is generally very good. Extensive series of minutes, annual reports and photographs give insight into the management and day-to-day administration of the Royal Free, the difficulties funding a voluntary hospital, and the development of the NHS. The collection also includes some of the earliest surviving patient case notes from a British hospital (1899-1920). These give detailed personal and clinical histories of patients, which provide a unique insight into the personal, social and medical conditions of the population of London's Kings Cross slums. They include case notes by some of the first women surgeons and physicians.
The Royal Free moved to its present site in Pond Street, Hampstead, in the mid 1970s. The new hospital brought together the old Royal Free Hospital in Gray's Inn Road with Lawn Road Hospital (formerly the North-Western Fever Hospital), New End Hospital and Hampstead General Hospital. As a result of NHS reorganization, the Royal Free came under the control of Camden and Islington Area Health Authority between 1974 and 1982 and the Hampstead Health Authority between 1982 and 1991. Records from this period of the Royal Free's history are patchy. Major series of minutes have survived, but few other records have been transferred.
In April 1991 the Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust became one of the first trusts established under the provisions of the NHS and Community Care Act 1990. The Royal National Throat Nose and Ear Hospital joined the trust in 1996. On 1 April 2012, the trust was authorised as a foundation trust, under the name Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust.
Set up in 1924 by royal warrant, the Royal Fine Art Commission (RFAC) acted as an advisory body to the government on all things architectural and aesthetic about the city. Although it lacked statutory powers, the Commission worked to influence and encourage decisions made about the built environment, urban design and the use of public space and amenities. These duties were extended in 1933, enabling the Commission to attract the government's attention to any development which impacted national urban design or the aesthetics of the public character. With increasing influence on planning permission submissions, the Commission's reach was further extended in 1946 by giving it the power to make inspections and request information on prospective projects. In post-War London, the Commission played a strong role in the planning and reconstruction of the city, from the design of new buildings to the alteration and re-use of existing ones. By the time it was decommissioned, the RFAC was an important influence on and part of the design process for the rebuilding and construction of new buildings nation-wide. It also had a major influence on the placement of memorials and statues, the style and use of street lighting and the construction of roads and motorways.
In 1999, the RFAC's functions were taken over by the newly established Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE), which continued to act in this independent capacity until 2011.
Source of information:http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/SearchUI/Details/AssetMain?iaid=C35 http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110118095356/http://www.cabe.org.uk/about/what-we-do
The Royal Eye Hospital was founded in 1857 by John Zachariah Laurence with the assistance of Carsten Holthouse. It opened with two beds in a house in St George's Circus, Southwark, under the name of the South London Ophthalmic Hospital. It was enlarged in 1860 by the addition of an adjoining house and changed its name to the Surrey Ophthalmic Hospital, the first in a series of name changes. In 1863 it became the Ophthalmic Hospital, in 1869 the Royal South London Ophthalmic Hospital, and in 1892, on the opening of a new enlarged hospital building still in St George's Circus, the Royal Eye Hospital. In 1906 the first organised teaching course in connection with the hospital was started, The first full time Chair in Ophthalmology was established at the hospital in conjunction with the Royal College of Surgeons in 1943. Arnold Sorsby was the first professor.
The hospital was badly damaged by bombing in May 1941 forcing the closure of the In-Patient Department. This re-opened in March 1942 in a house acquired by the hospital in Upper Brighton Road, Surbiton. Outpatients continued to be treated in Southwark. The Surbiton hospital started its own small outpatient department in 1943. The Southwark hospital was able to re-open twenty-eight beds for in-patients in December 1944. These were supplemented by beds at Lambeth Hospital, which were made available by the London County Council for the use of Royal Eye Hospital patients.
The hospital was transferred to the National Health Service in 1948 and became part of King's College Hospital Group. This association was terminated in October 1956 at the request of the Royal Eye Hospital which then became part of the Lambeth Group of hospitals within the South West Metropolitan Region. The Lambeth Group amalgamated with the Wandsworth Group in 1964 to form the South West London Group. In about 1973 the Royal Eye Hospital, Southwark, was transferred to St Thomas' Hospital Group, which in 1974 became St Thomas' Health District (Teaching). The Royal Eye Hospital, Surbiton, passed to Kingston and Richmond Area Health Authority.
The Southwark hospital ceased to admit in-patients in 1976 when the Royal Eye Hospital ward opened in the new St Thomas' Hospital ward block. The outpatient department closed in 1980. The hospital buildings were taken over for administrative use first by Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham Area Health Authority and then by Lewisham and North Southwark Health Authority.
Royal Exchange Assurance was established by royal charter in 1720. Its business comprised marine, fire and life insurance, and general accident insurance in Britain and overseas.
In 1968 the company combined with Guardian Assurance Company Limited to form Guardian Royal Exchange Assurance. The company had offices at the Royal Exchange from 1720 until c 1999 when Guardian Royal Exchange Assurance was taken over by AXA.
The Royal Commonwealth Society was founded in 1868 as the Colonial Society. It was renamed the Royal Colonial Institute in 1870 and the Royal Empire Society in 1928. It adopted its current name in 1958. It is a pan-Commonwealth Non-Governmental Organisation, supported by a world-wide membership, working to inform and educate about the Commonwealth.The RCS Library contains about 300,000 printed items and over 70,000 photographs. At the beginning of the 1990's, it appeared that the Society would be forced to break up and sell the collection. A £3 million appeal launched in 1992, saved the Library for the nation and enabled it to be moved to Cambridge University Library, where it remains on permanent deposit.
The Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London, was founded in 1949 to promote advanced study of the Commonwealth.
Foundation. The Royal Economic Society (RES) was founded in 1890 as the British Economics Association (BEA) with the aim of promoting and encouraging the study of economic science and with the particular objective of publishing an economic journal in Britain. Many prominent British economists were involved in the foundation of the BEA, including Inglis Palgrave, Herbert Foxwell and Alfred Marshall. At the particular urging of Alfred Marshall, membership of the BEA was declared open to all and has been ever since, making the Society not only a learned professional body but also an open society for anyone interested in economics. Members have included prominent academics, businessmen, journalists, clergymen, politicians and civil servants.
Structure. On the initiative of Henry Higgs (Secretary of the Society, 1892-1906), the BEA applied for and was granted a Royal Charter in December 1902 and became the Royal Economic Society. The Charter specifies that there shall be a Council which will be responsible for the 'management and direction of the Society'. It also lays down that 'The Council shall consist of the President, Vice-Presidents, and not less than twenty Councillors; and the Treasurer or Treasurer and the Secretary or Secretaries if honorary'. Many distinguished economists have been associated with the RES throughout its history, as Presidents, Council members, Secretaries, Treasurers and Editors of the Economic Journal. The first two Presidents of the Society were prominent statesmen, namely George Goschen who was Chancellor of the Exchequer, and R B Haldance, another prominent politician who remained President of the Society for 22 years. In 1929 the Council re-affirmed an earlier resolution that 'it was considered advisable that as a rule the President should not hold office for more than three years'. In fact, apart from Herbert Foxwell, the term of office of the Society's Presidents was two years until 1986 when a three-year term was introduced. Past Presidents include John Maynard Keynes, William Beveridge, Lionel Robbins, James Meade, Nicholas Kaldor and Richard Stone. In its early years, the day-to-day running of the Society was left to Henry Higgs and F Y Edgeworth (Editor of the Economic Journal, 1892-1906). Among later Secretaries and Editors who also took a prominent part in the administration of the Society's affairs were John Maynard Keynes (1912-1945), Roy Harrod (1945-1961) and Austin Robinson (1945-1971). The retirement of Austin Robinson in 1971 was followed by the decentralisation of the Society's activities as well as significent changes in its administration. These changes were overseen by the then President, Sir Alec Cairncross, and they included the formation of an Executive Committee in 1975. This committee is responsible for the execution of the Society's policy as laid down by the Council (which now meets twice a year) and for the co-ordination of the activities of its officers. Other changes which have taken place include the introduction of a more direct say by members in the composition of the Council and the selection of the President.
The EJ and other Publications. The first Economic Journal (EJ) appeared in 1891. The first page of the first issue stated 'The British Economic Association is open to all schools and parties: no person is excluded because of his opinions. The Economic Journal, issued under the authority of the Association, will be conducted in a similar spirit of toleration'. The EJ has been produced ever since, even during war years, quarterly until 1991 and six times a year since then. Successive editors to 1970 (F Y Edgeworth, J M Keynes, Roy Harrod and Charles Carter) took responsibility for the articles and notes sections: book reviews were handled by separate assistant or joint editors following the appointment of Austin Robinson in 1934. From 1970 onwards the editorship became more collaborative and much greater use began to be made of referees and associate editors. In addition, the Society has produced a Newsletter since 1972; at first this contained mainly information on visiting scholars, appointments and conferences, but it now also publishes short articles of topical interest, correspondence and news about research. The Newsletter is published quarterly. One of the objectives of the Society at its foundation was to make scholarly economic works available to its members, primarily by the reprinting of early tracts, the translation of important foreign works and producing definitive editions of economic texts. Early publications included Quesnay's Tableau Economique; later more ambitious undertakings included the multi-volume editions of the Works and Correspondence of David Ricardo and the Collected Writings of John Maynard Keynes. The Keynes Edition was one of the Society's major undertakings from its conception in 1954 to the publication of its final volume in 1989.
Other activities. The RES continues to contribute today to the advancement and dissemination of economic knowledge. The aims and activities of the Society have, however, broadened since 1890. In addition to its publishing activities, the Society contributes to the exchange of ideas in the profession through its Annual Conference, through its support for the standing Conference of Heads of University Departments of Economics (CHUDE) established in 1987 to promote the study and teaching of economics in the UK, and through its Visiting Lectureship scheme. Support for younger members is provided through summer research workshops, the Easter School, junior fellowships and the conference grant scheme. The Society also co-operates with other economic societies both nationally and internationally. It was a founding member of the International Economic Association and of the Confederation of European Economic Associations.
The hospital opened on 1st December 1858 at 32 Soho Square as the Dental Hospital of London. The origins of all regulated and scientific dental practices can be found in the inception of the Dental Hospital and School. Before 1858 the dental profession had no regulation and anyone could set themselves up as a dental practitioner. This led to poor standards and a realisation of the need for proper training and an official qualification for dental practitioners. The Dental Hospital was established to achieve this and gained the backing of the Royal College of Surgeons to approve diplomas. The Dental School opened on 1st October 1859 to provide regulated, structured training for students in dental medicine. The hospital emphasised the need to regard dental medicine as connected to all other branches of medicine and to look at the wider picture when treating patients.
In 1874 the Dental Hospital moved to Nos. 40 and 41 Leicester Square the premises at 32 Soho Square having become too small and limited in resources for the number of patients being seen. The number of patients being treated had risen from 2,116 in 1859 to 22,627 in 1872. By 1882 they had reached 35,893 and there were once again complaints about a lack of space, these were appeased with the addition of the Tower House, adjoining the Hospital property and given to them by Sir Edwin Saunders. The addition of this extra space almost doubled the hospital's operating space.
The problem of space did not end there. The Dental Hospital was now in a position where their efforts to increase resources to meet rising demand resulted in even greater demand. By 1886 patient attendances had reached 43,745, a 12% increase on the previous year and nearly double that of 1874. This resulted in further overcrowding and a need for further expansion. An attempt was made to incorporate No. 42 Leicester Square into the Hospital, but these plans were held up by difficulties over fire regulations. It was not until 1888 that the extension was opened. This was only a temporary solution to a long-term problem, and the Dental hospital looked at obtaining a new site for the construction of a purpuse built hospital building.
By the end of 1893 the Board of Management had purchase Nos. 35, 35a and 36 Leicester Square, Nos. 22 and 23 Green Street, Nos. 1-5 Longs Court and had a deposit down for The Duke's Head, No. 37 Saint Martin's Street, all of which were contained within the same block. This had entailed an expenditure of £20,398, three-quarters of which had to be borrowed from the bank. Plans were in place for the purchase of the other buildings in the block and this was achieved by 1896, when plans were set in place to rebuild. The site was cleared in 1896 and the building work commenced in 1897. The Hospital moved into the new building in March 1901, and the old site was sold for £18,000. At this time the Hospital also received the patronage of King Edward VII and changed its name to the Royal Dental hospital. The Hospital at this time had developed the shape and organisation that were to stay in place for the next 75 years, but it had also gained a burden of debt that was not to be paid off until 1930.
In 1911 the Royal Dental Hospital of London School of Dental Surgery became a school of the University of London and as well as their own Licence in Dental Surgery a University Degree in Dental Surgery was offered. This development allowed the Dental School to become involved in many of the developments in dental surgery that occurred in the early twentieth century. However the burden of debt did also mean that the School and Hospital did not develop as rapidly during this period as some of their competitors. The technological development of the Hospital was slowed down by the financial pressures and by the internal politics of the teaching and practice of Dental Surgery at this time.
The Royal Dental Hospital and School stayed open throughout the Second World War. Most of the other specialist dental schools and departments had either closed down or moved out of London with their parent organisations, leaving the Royal Dental hospital as the only place for the public to get specialist dental care. The building was damaged by a land mine in October 1940 but was quickly repaired and back in service. Other difficulties due to reduce income and staff shortages meant that the referral of patients for consultant opinion was discouraged, but other wise a full service was offered.
The establishment of the NHS in 1948 saw the Royal Dental Hospital grouped with the Saint George's Hospital and Medical School, located on Hyde Park Corner and the Atkinson Morley in Wimbledon as the Saint George's Hospital Teaching Group. The School of Dental Surgery became a self-governing body, affiliated with Saint George's Hospital Medical School. The problems over space were still an issue. In 1957 plans to renovate the interior of the hospital to provide more space and better equipment were approved and the Hospital and School accomodation was reorganised, the School moved most of its non-clinical facilities into the newly acquired Ciro Club on Orange Street.
During the 1960's and 1970's the big issue was the transfer of the Dental School to Tooting with Saint George's Hospital and Medical School, which were to be rebuilt there. The Royal Dental Hospital was not at first happy with this and tried to delay the move, which was also held up by the Ministry of Health due to the finacial situation of the time. However Saint George's finally moved in 1975 and in 1976 the School of Dental Surgery's pre-clinical departments moved to Tooting. It was decided that the dental service required in Tooting was not that offered by the Royal Dental Hospital and the 1980's were spent preparing of the closure of the Hospital. The Dental School was amalgamated with the United Medical School of Guy's and Saint Thomas' Hospitals and the remaining dental services transferred to Tooting. The Royal Dental Hospital closed in 1985 and the site in Leicester Square was developed as the Hampshire Hotel.
The hospital opened on 1st December 1858 at 32 Soho Square as the Dental Hospital of London. The origins of all regulated and scientific dental practices can be found in the inception of the Dental Hospital and School. Before 1858 the dental profession had no regulation and anyone could set themselves up as a dental practitioner. This led to poor standards and a realisation of the need for proper training and an official qualification for dental practitioners. The Dental Hospital was established to achieve this and gained the backing of the Royal College of Surgeons to approve diplomas. The Dental School opened on 1st October 1859 to provide regulated, structured training for students in dental medicine. The hospital emphasised the need to regard dental medicine as connected to all other branches of medicine and to look at the wider picture when treating patients.
In 1911 the Royal Dental Hospital of London School of Dental Surgery became a school of the University of London and as well as their own Licence in Dental Surgery a University Degree in Dental Surgery was offered. This development allowed the Dental School to become involved in many of the developments in dental surgery that occurred in the early twentieth century. However the burden of debt did also mean that the School and Hospital did not develop as rapidly during this period as some of their competitors. The technological development of the Hospital was slowed down by the financial pressures and by the internal politics of the teaching and practice of Dental Surgery at this time.
The establishment of the NHS in 1948 saw the Royal Dental Hospital grouped with the Saint George's Hospital and Medical School, located on Hyde Park Corner and the Atkinson Morley in Wimbledon as the Saint George's Hospital Teaching Group. The School of Dental Surgery became a self-governing body, affiliated with Saint George's Hospital Medical School. The problems over space were still an issue. In 1957 plans to renovate the interior of the hospital to provide more space and better equipment were approved and the Hospital and School accomodation was reorganised, the School moved most of its non-clinical facilities into the newly acquired Ciro Club on Orange Street.
During the 1960's and 1970's the big issue was the transfer of the Dental School to Tooting with Saint George's Hospital and Medical School, which were to be rebuilt there. The Royal Dental Hospital was not at first happy with this and tried to delay the move, which was also held up by the Ministry of Health due to the finacial situation of the time. However Saint George's finally moved in 1975 and in 1976 the School of Dental Surgery's pre-clinical departments moved to Tooting. It was decided that the dental service required in Tooting was not that offered by the Royal Dental Hospital and the 1980's were spent preparing of the closure of the Hospital. The Dental School was amalgamated with the United Medical School of Guy's and Saint Thomas' Hospitals and the remaining dental services transferred to Tooting. The Royal Dental Hospital closed in 1985 and the site in Leicester Square was developed as the Hampshire Hotel.
The hospital opened on 1st December 1858 at 32 Soho Square as the Dental Hospital of London. The origins of all regulated and scientific dental practices can be found in the inception of the Dental Hospital and School. Before 1858 the dental profession had no regulation and anyone could set themselves up as a dental practitioner. This led to poor standards and a realisation of the need for proper training and an official qualification for dental practitioners. The Dental Hospital was established to achieve this and gained the backing of the Royal College of Surgeons to approve diplomas. The Dental School opened on 1st October 1859 to provide regulated, structured training for students in dental medicine. The hospital emphasised the need to regard dental medicine as connected to all other branches of medicine and to look at the wider picture when treating patients.
In 1874 the Dental Hospital moved to Nos. 40 and 41 Leicester Square the premises at 32 Soho Square having become too small and limited in resources for the number of patients being seen. The number of patients being treated had risen from 2,116 in 1859 to 22,627 in 1872. By 1882 they had reached 35,893 and there were once again complaints about a lack of space, these were appeased with the addition of the Tower House, adjoining the Hospital property and given to them by Sir Edwin Saunders. The addition of this extra space almost doubled the hospital's operating space. The problem of space did not end there. The Dental Hospital was now in a position where their efforts to increase resources to meet rising demand resulted in even greater demand. By 1886 patient attendances had reached 43,745, a 12% increase on the previous year and nearly double that of 1874. This resulted in further overcrowding and a need for further expansion. An attempt was made to incorporate No. 42 Leicester Square into the Hospital, but these plans were held up by difficulties over fire regulations. It was not until 1888 that the extension was opened. This was only a temporary solution to a long-term problem, and the Dental hospital looked at obtaining a new site for the construction of a purpuse built hospital building. By the end of 1893 the Board of Management had purchase Nos. 35, 35a and 36 Leicester Square, Nos. 22 and 23 Green Street, Nos. 1-5 Longs Court and had a deposit down for The Duke's Head, No. 37 Saint Martin's Street, all of which were contained within the same block. This had entailed an expenditure of £20,398, three-quarters of which had to be borrowed from the bank. Plans were in place for the purchase of the other buildings in the block and this was achieved by 1896, when plans were set in place to rebuild. The site was cleared in 1896 and the building work commenced in 1897. The Hospital moved into the new building in March 1901, and the old site was sold for £18,000. At this time the Hospital also received the patronage of King Edward VII and changed its name to the Royal Dental hospital. The Hospital at this time had developed the shape and organisation that were to stay in place for the next 75 years, but it had also gained a burden of debt that was not to be paid off until 1930.
In 1911 the Royal Dental Hospital of London School of Dental Surgery became a school of the University of London and as well as their own Licence in Dental Surgery a University Degree in Dental Surgery was offered. This development allowed the Dental School to become involved in many of the developments in dental surgery that occurred in the early twentieth century. However the burden of debt did also mean that the School and Hospital did not develop as rapidly during this period as some of their competitors. The technological development of the Hospital was slowed down by the financial pressures and by the internal politics of the teaching and practice of Dental Surgery at this time.
The Royal Dental Hospital and School stayed open throughout the Second World War. Most of the other specialist dental schools and departments had either closed down or moved out of London with their parent organisations, leaving the Royal Dental hospital as the only place for the public to get specialist dental care. The building was damaged by a land mine in October 1940 but was quickly repaired and back in service. Other difficulties due to reduce income and staff shortages meant that the referral of patients for consultant opinion was discouraged, but other wise a full service was offered. The establishment of the NHS in 1948 saw the Royal Dental Hospital grouped with the Saint George's Hospital and Medical School, located on Hyde Park Corner and the Atkinson Morley in Wimbledon as the Saint George's Hospital Teaching Group. The School of Dental Surgery became a self-governing body, affiliated with Saint George's Hospital Medical School. The problems over space were still an issue. In 1957 plans to renovate the interior of the hospital to provide more space and better equipment were approved and the Hospital and School accomodation was reorganised, the School moved most of its non-clinical facilities into the newly acquired Ciro Club on Orange Street.
During the 1960's and 1970's the big issue was the transfer of the Dental School to Tooting with Saint George's Hospital and Medical School, which were to be rebuilt there. The Royal Dental Hospital was not at first happy with this and tried to delay the move, which was also held up by the Ministry of Health due to the finacial situation of the time. However Saint George's finally moved in 1975 and in 1976 the School of Dental Surgery's pre-clinical departments moved to Tooting. It was decided that the dental service required in Tooting was not that offered by the Royal Dental Hospital and the 1980's were spent preparing of the closure of the Hospital. The Dental School was amalgamated with the United Medical School of Guy's and Saint Thomas' Hospitals and the remaining dental services transferred to Tooting. The Royal Dental Hospital closed in 1985 and the site in Leicester Square was developed as the Hampshire Hotel.
The Commission was appointed in June 1965 to review medical education, both undergraduate and postgraduate, in Great Britain, in the light of national needs and resources, including technical assistance overseas; to advise the government on what principles should govern future development; to take into account the General Medical Council's review of recent changes in the undergraduate curriculum; and to consider what changes might be needed in the pattern, number, nature or location of the institutions providing medical education. The Commission published its report (the "Todd Report") in April 1968.
The RCCP was set up in 1978 to examine the duties and powers of the police and the rights and duties of suspects in respect of the investigation of criminal offences and the procedure for prosecution in criminal cases. The Commission reported in 1981.
The Great Exhibtion of 1851 was held in London in a specially-designed glass building erected in Hyde Park, nicknamed the Crystal Palace. The profits from this Exhibition purchased the Kensington Gore Estate on which the area named 'Albertopolis' was built and the Royal Albert Hall would come to be erected. The subsequent London International Exhibition on Industry and Art of 1862 was held from 1 May-1 November 1862 in South Kensington, in the gardens of the Royal Horticultural Society, which would later adjourn the Royal Albert Hall on the south side. The Queen, who was in mourning for her recently-deceased husband, did not attend the opening ceremony. The particular aim of the world exhibitions in the 19th century was to promote peaceful competition between nations and would be the last large international exhibitions in Great Britain.
The Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 was established in 1850 by Queen Victoria to mastermind the 'Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations'. The commissioners were appointed by Royal Charter to plan and promote the Great Exhibition, with Prince Albert as the President taking personal charge of the operation. The exhibition was held in London in 1851 in a building designed by Sir Joseph Paxton, known as the Crystal Palace. It was erected in Hyde Park, and after the exhibition closed was sold by the contractors to a syndicate for re-erection at Sydenham, where it remained until it was burnt down in 1936. The exhibition made a substantial profit of £186,000, and when its affairs were wound up the commissioners remained a permanent body under a supplemental charter to administer the surplus funds to 'increase the means of industrial education and extend the influence of science and art upon productive industry'. The profit was carefully managed, and capital assets are now of the order of £39 million with annual charitable disbursement of over £1 million. The commissioners proposed to provide a 'locality', and establish central institutions working in cooperation with regional interests to promote industrial education for the benefit of the whole country. Within two years the commissioners had bought an estate in South Kensington of eighty-seven acres. The commissioners were assisted by Parliament to complete the purchase of the estate, and elected Government representatives to the commission as ex-officio members to assist them in managing the estate. Government representatives continue to serve, although the partnership with the commission was dissolved in 1858.
The first step in the development of the system was taken by the Government in founding the Department of Science and Art in 1853. The Department was moved to land off Exhibition Road in Kensington in 1860, and other institutions were established in the same area including the School of Naval Architecture and Engineering (later moved to Greenwich), the Royal College of Science, the Royal School of Mines and the Royal College of Art. In 1858 the commissioners assigned to the Government the land east of Exhibition Road on which the South Kensington Museum (later the Victoria and Albert Museum) was built. The southern part of the main square of the estate was used for the International Exhibition of 1862, and in 1863 part of that site was sold to the Government for the Natural History Museum and other public institutions. From 1860 to 1889 the commissioners used the estate for temporary exhibitions and other activities designed to stimulate public interest in science and art. The commissioners still intended to establish permanent institutions according to their stated aims, and to this end a Museum of Art had been established and Museum of Science was being developed. The commissioners leased sites for and helped promote the foundation of the Royal Albert Hall, Royal College of Music, Royal College of Art, Royal College of Organists, Royal School of Needlework, National School of Cookery, School of Art Woodcarving and Queen Alexandra's House, a residential hostel for female students. The commissioners also enabled the Government to acquire land for developing the National Science Collections and Library and eventually to build the Science and Geological museums. Land was leased to the City and Guilds of London Institute for the building of their Central Institution (opened 1884), and for the building of the Imperial Institute (later Commonwealth Institute). The Royal Horticultural Society's gardens also occupied a large section of the estate until the 1870s. The remainder of the unoccupied estate was leased to the Imperial College of Science and Technology (now Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) which in 1907 co-ordinated its constituent colleges already established on the estate, the Royal College of Science, Royal School of Mines and City and Guild's College.
As part of their aims of 'increasing the means of industrial education and extending the influence of science and art upon productive industry' the commissioners also established fellowships and scholarships for science and engineering graduates which continue today. A scheme of postgraduate awards was launched in 1891 'for assisting the promotion of scientific education by devoting a portion of their surplus income to the establishment of technical scholarships'. Seventeen to twenty scholarships were offered each year to students from universities in Britain, Ireland and throughout the empire. The scheme was reorganised in 1922, with two schemes operating. Senior Studentships (later called Research Fellowships) were available to all British university institutions and provided funds for two years of research for scientists or engineers. Overseas Scholarships, which ran until 1988, were awarded to universities of the Empire and later the Commonwealth. They allowed selected students to devote two or three years to full time research. The schemes provided research opportunities to many outstanding scientists and engineers, including eleven Nobel Laureates, four Presidents and 130 Fellows of the Royal Society. Former 1851 award holders include Lord Ernest Rutherford, Professor Charles Barkla, Professor Robert Robinson, Professor Walter Haworth, Sir John Cockcroft, E T S Walton, Paul Dirac, Sir James Chadwick, C P Snow, Lord Alexander Todd, Professor Sir John Cornforth and Sir Aaron Klug.
A scheme of industrial bursaries was established in 1911 to give graduates financial assistance before obtaining employment in industry, ending in 1939. Post graduate scholarships in naval architecture were also awarded by the commission, and travelling scholarships tenable at the British School at Rome for the study and practice of fine arts. Currently the Commission's educational awards comprise Research Fellowships in Science or Engineering awarded to scientists or engineers to continue research for two years, Industrial Fellowships, awarded to British nationals for work in British industry, Industrial Design Studentships and Research Fellowships for research within the Built Environment.
A Faculty of Anaesthetists of the Royal College of Surgeons was formed at the inauguration of the National Health Service (NHS) in 1948. Following increasing specialisation in medical disciplines in the mid-20th century there was a trend for emergent disciplines to found independent academic bodies, separate from the general Colleges of physicians and surgeons, to provide for their own educational and examination requirements and maintain standards in patient care in their field. By 1970 anaesthesia was the largest single specialty in the NHS, but its Faculty did not control its own funds or award its own diplomas. During the 1970s there was debate within the profession as to whether the dependent Faculty of Anaesthetists of the Royal College of Surgeons of England should remain, or whether an independent institution should be established. A College of Anaesthetists was eventually established, by Supplementary Charter, within the Royal College of Surgeons of England in 1988. In 1989 the decision was made to become independent and funds were raised to acquire premises at nos 48-49 Russell Square, London. It was succeeded by the Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCOA), founded as an independent body by Royal Charter in 1992, with responsibility for setting standards for practice in anaesthesia, establishing standards for training postgraduate practitioners, administering examinations, and continuing medical education of all anaesthetists. See the RCOA website: http://www.rcoa.ac.uk
In 1745 a split in the Company of Barber-Surgeons [est. 1540] led to the formation of The Company of Surgeons. The Company of Surgeons obtained a Royal Charter in 1800 and became the Royal College of Surgeons of London. A new charter in 1843 led to the current name The Royal College of Surgeons of England.
The Department of Biology had its origins in the teaching and research of biology in the Government School of Mines and Science as Applied to the Arts (later the Royal School of Mines) in 1851. The department moved to South Kensington in 1872, where T H Huxley was prominent in establishing modern teaching methods of the discipline. In 1881 the Royal College of Science was founded and took over the teaching of biology in two separate departments, Botany and Zoology. The Departments were united into a single Department of Biology in 1913 as part of Imperial College, with professors of Zoology, Plant Physiology, Woods and Fibres and Entomology.
The Department of Biochemistry opened in 1965. Before this, biochemical research and teaching at Imperial College operated within the Department of Botany.
The Division of Life Sciences was formed from the Departments of Botany, Zoology and Biochemistry in 1974. The Life Sciences Committee was established as a committee of the Board of Studies to consider all academic developments within the field and report to the Board as appropriate.
In 1981 the Department of Botany and Plant Technology was merged with the Department of Zoology and Applied Entomology to form the Department of Pure and Applied Biology, with the transfer of Microbiology from the Department of Biochemistry.
Curricula and examinations at Imperial College are set by the Senate, previously the Board of Studies (until 1998), and administered by the Registry.
The Department of Science and Art was set up by the Board of Trade in 1853 to develop science education. It later became the Board of Education, the Ministry of Education, and the Department of Education and Science.
The Department of Electrical Engineering originated with the teaching of evening classes in pratical electricity at Finsbury Technical College in 1878. With the opening of the City and Guilds Central Institution in 1884 classes moved to South Kensington as the Department of Physics, but was renamed Electrical Engineering in 1898.
The Department of Physics has its origins in the teaching of Mechanical Science at the Government School of Mines and Science (later the Royal School of Mines) which opened in 1851. In 1853 Applied Mechanics and Experimental Physics were taught at the School. After 1872 Physics, Chemistry and Natural History were transferred to South Kensington.
Astronomy was taught from 1882, with the first Professor of Astronomical Physics being appointed in 1887. In 1911 a Department and Committee for Technical Optics was established, which in 1918 separated from the Department of Physics. By 1926, the department had become a postgraduate section of the Department of Physics, and later became the Applied Optics Section.
The teaching of Chemistry at Imperial College has its origins in the Royal College of Chemistry, which was established in 1845 in Hanover Square, London. In 1853 the College was incorporated with the Government School of Mines and of Science Applied to the Arts (later the Royal School of Mines). Chemistry was one of the departments to be transferred to South Kensington in 1872.
In 1881 the Royal College of Chemistry and the Royal School of Mines joined to form the Royal College of Science. In 1907 both became constituent colleges of the Imperial College of Science and Technology. A postgraduate Department of Chemical Technology was formed in 1912 as part of the Royal College of Science. In 1927 Chemical Engineering became a sub-department of Chemical Technology, along with Fuel Technology and Electrothermics. By 1940 Chemical Engineering had transferred to the City and Guilds College, to form a new department along with Applied Physical Chemistry.
The Royal College of Science was formed in 1881 in South Kensington by merging some courses of the Royal School of Mines with courses in Mathematics, Astronomy, Botany and Agriculture. It was originally named the Normal School of Science (the title was based on the Ecole Normale in Paris), with one of the aims of the School being to provide systematic training to school science teachers. Students of the Royal College of Science were able to qualify in the subjects of Physics, Chemistry, Mechanics, Biology and Agriculture. In 1890 was the School was renamed the Royal College of Science. In 1907 the Royal College of Science and Royal School of Mines were incorporated in the Royal Charter of the Imperial College of Science and Technology.
The Medical Planning Sub-Committee was set up in July 1941 by the Council of the Royal Medico-Psychological Association a predecessor body of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. The Sub-Committee was responsible for liaising with other medical bodies like the Royal Society of Medicine (RSM), the British Medical Association`s Group of Practitioners of Psychological Medicine and the Royal College of Physicians on the admininstration, and the future of psychiatric services.
The British Geriatrics Society and the Royal College of Psychiatrists Joint Liason Committee was set up in 1976. The Committee was established to facilitate discussion on matters of common interest concerning old age psychiatry.
The British Paediatric Association and the Royal College of Psychiatrists Liaison Committee was established in 1986 to enable collaboration between the two bodies to discuss and debate joint issues, to facilitate closer integration of paediatrics and psychiatry, and to provide a source of advice and guidance on training for the two bodies.
The Standing Joint Committee of the Royal College of Psychiatrists and British Psychological Society was set up in 1975, but held its first meeting on 7 January 1977.
The The Royal College of Psychiatrists and the College of Occupational Therapists was established in 1988 to promote professional links and understanding between the two disciplines and to encourage joint research.
The College of Physicians was founded by Royal Charter in 1518 after a small group of distinguished physicians led by Thomas Linacre petitioned the King to be incorporated into a College similar to those found in a number of other European countries. The main functions of the College as set down in the founding Charter, were to grant licences to those qualified to practise medicine and to punish unqualified practitioners and those engaing in malpractice. Membership comprises Fellows, Licentiates and from 1859 Members. Membership is by examination, Fellowship by invitation after recommendation by an existing Fellow.
In the seventeenth century, Edinburgh physicians began to hold meetings in their own homes to discuss the regulation of medical practice and the ways in which standards in medicine could be improved.
Sir Robert Sibbald, an eminent physician and noted historian, was a member of this group. He had the opportunity to petition King Charles II, who granted the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh its Royal Charter in 1681.
Thus, Sir Robert is generally accepted to be the founder of the College. The founding Fellows of the College were concerned not only with the advancement of medicine as a reputable science, but also with alleviating the miseries of the City's poor and needy.
For more than 300 years, the College has remained independent of control by government, and its mission today lies close to the ideals of its founders 'to promote the highest standards in internal medicine' not only in Edinburgh where it was founded and has developed, but wherever its Fellows, Collegiate members and Members practise.
The College acts in an advisory capacity to government and other organisations on many aspects of health and welfare and medical education. It was instrumental in founding the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh in 1729 and, over the years, has influenced the development of medical schools in North America, Australasia, Asia and Africa.
The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh now has over 10,000 Fellows and Members and maintains strong links with many overseas countries, where more than half of them live and practise medicine. (Copied from http://www.rcpe.ac.uk/about/history.php)
Over the years, the British Paediatric Association and Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health have developed links with various individuals who have provided funds to enable them to Award fellowships, medals and other prizes.
The first Memorandum and Articles of Association of the College were approved on 13 September 1929. The first royal charter was granted in 1947, with a supplemental charter in 1948. Further amendments were made to the charter, articles of association, ordinances and by-laws in 1963, 1971, 1979, 1984 and 1999.
A Clinical Effectiveness Support Unit (CESU) was set up as a new department of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in June 1999 to co-ordinate the College's many existing clinical governance and educational activities. It was renamed the National Collaborating Centre for Women's Health and Children's Health (NCC-WCH) in 2001. The NCC-WHC's main functions are as follows: production of at least two evidence-based guidelines per year, completion of two national audits in obstetrics and gynaecology per year, co-ordination and support of the clinical effectiveness programme within the College, liaison with relevant related activities, including the confidential enquiries into infant and maternal deaths (CESDI and CEMD), consideration of further developments, particularly accreditation of services and consumer issues. The NCC-WHC produces two types of Guidelines: National Evidence-based Guidelines, funded by the National Institute for Clinical Evidence (NICE) covering all aspects of a particular area of clinical practice e.g. infertility, electronic fetal monitoring, induction of labour, and Green-Top Guidelines, funded by the College and comprising brief evidence-based statements on topical and controversial issues to assist clinicians in their decision making about appropriate health care. The NCC-WHC services three College committees: Clinical Effectiveness Standards Board (CESB), Guideline and Audit Sub-committee (GASC), a sub-committee of CESB and Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC).
In 1971 the College established a Family Planning Sub-committee to discuss proposals for the RCOG, together with the Royal College of General Practitioners, to issue a joint certificate of training in family planning based on assessment in family planning clinics. It was agreed that those doctors already recognised by the Family Planning Association (FPA) should be accepted under the new scheme, and that the FPA should be represented on the committee. The committee was superseded in 1972 by the RCOG/RCGP Committee on Contraception and Family Planning.
On 26 April 1973 it was decided that the committee should be renamed the Joint Committee on Contraception of the RCOG and RCGP, normally abbreviated as the Joint Committee on Contraception (JCC). The personnel of the committee remained unchanged, being dominated by representatives of the two eponymous royal colleges, with representatives from the FPA and the Society of Community Medicine. In December 1974 the RCOG agreed to take over the secretarial work for the JCC and office space was allotted for this purpose. In 1993 the JCC was superseded by the Faculty of Family Planning and Reproductive Health Care (FFPRHC).
Overseas doctors' training schemes (ODTS) were instituted by the Department of Health after the Second World War to arrange postgraduate training in the UK for overseas doctors. Under the schemes the Department arranged training posts for doctors from overseas, monitored training and negotiated with the Home Office over visas. During the 1970s the royal medical colleges were also developing their own procedures for assisting and advising overseas doctors wishing to train in the UK. In the late 1980s responsibility for developing their own training schemes, including sponsorship, was passed to the royal medical colleges.
In 1983 the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists decided to expand its existing arrangements, which had hitherto been confined to the placement of postgraduates financed by funds from overseas in unpaid supernumerary posts. Double sponsorship schemes were therefore initiated, the overseas sponsor normally being the national or regional representative committee of the College; in countries without such committees sponsorship by Fellows or Members, or, exceptionally, deans of medical schools was considered. Placement of sponsored trainees and their subsequent supervision was the responsibility of the College's Director of Postgraduate Studies. In 1986 a Sponsorship Officer (now the ODTF Officer) was appointed.
In 1994 the ODTS section within the College acquired a careers side, currently run by a Careers Officer, who produces careers advice and guidelines. ODTF (the section was renamed in 2001) also maintains records of overseas doctors who have passed the membership of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (MRCOG). The ODTF falls under the umbrella of the Postgraduate Training Department of the College.
The Blair-Bell Research Society was initially established as a research club to informally discuss obstetrical and gynaecological issues at meetings held approximately every three months. In 1961 the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists agreed that the society could use College premises as a regular venue for the club's meetings. From 1962 the club is referred to in College correspondence as "the Blair-Bell Research Society", and the College President has usually been the Society's president.
Other than the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, produced by the Journal Department, production of Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists publications was initially the responsibility of a designated member of staff within the Administration Department. As the function expanded in importance with the establishment of a RCOG Press and a College Bookshop in 1993, a Publications Office was set up within the department; in 2000 this office became the Publications Department. The department is responsible for publishing RCOG Press volumes and serials.
The Council was established by the Articles of Association of the British College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists to manage the affairs of the College. The first Council was to consist of the signatories to the Memorandum of Association; the full Council was to comprise the President, Treasurer and Honorary Secretary of the College, plus 18 members made up of Fellows and Members. The first Council meeting was held on September 25 1929. Council's specific duties as set out in the 1927 Articles of Association were to be as follows: to elect Fellows and Members, to acquire property, to appoint and remove examiners, officers, clerks and agents, to nominate trustees, to give security by way of indemnity, to delegate power to committees, to make and repeal byelaws, to borrow money, to pay expenses, to act for the College, to publish literature.
An Executive Committee was established as a standing committee of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in 1926. By June 1930 it had combined with another standing committee, the Finance and Establishment Committee, to form the Finance and Executive Committee (F & E). Renamed the Finance and Executive Group in 2002, it is serviced by the College Secretary's Office.