History of the RSM - December 2009
Season’s Greetings
For a full image, please click here
.Illustrated here is Sir John MacAlister’s Christmas card for the year 1899 depicting himself as Father Christmas in a drawing by his friend Phil May.
Sir John MacAlister (1856 – 1925) was, in 1887, appointed Resident Librarian and Principal Officer at the Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society, located then at 53 Berners Street. With his great organisational flair and legendary energy he reorganised the Library and edited the Transactions. In 1889 he supervised the Society’s move to 20 Hanover Square and in 1901 he became Secretary, General Manager, and Consulting Librarian of the Society. MacAlister was the prime mover in the campaign to persuade a group of leading smaller specialist medical societies to amalgamate with the Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society and so form the Royal Society of Medicine. This ambition was achieved in 1907 and in 1912 the RSM moved into its premises at 1 Wimpole Street. MacAlister remained Secretary of the Society until his death.
See the link below for the story of how MacAlister gained for the Society its prestigious address.
Previous features of the month:
- November 2009 - Charles Darwin
- October 2009 - Jody Holland
- September 2009 - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
- August 2009 - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
- July 2009 - Sigmund Freud
- June 2009 - Friedrich von Esmarch
- May 2009 - Rare books exhibition
- April 2009 - Dr. Peter Mark Roget
- March 2009 - Letter to Dr FW Cock
- February 2009 - Charles Darwin
- January 2009 - John Clare
- December 2008 - Prospero Alpini
