Join the Royal Society of Medicine (RSM) History of Medicine Section for this hybrid evening event exploring the role of retrospective diagnosis in understanding historical figures and what happens when modern medical knowledge meets the historical record.
Interest in applying contemporary clinical reasoning to historical figures and artefacts is growing, yet opportunities to examine its methods, limitations and relevance remain rare. For long-dead individuals, diagnostic evidence is largely confined to surviving documents, artefacts and artistic representations, with skeletal or biological remains available only in exceptional cases. This evening examines how these sources can be used together with rigour and appropriate caution to characterise the illnesses of historical figures and what medicine can, and cannot reliably tell us about the past
Dr Nick Summerton will examine the process, outcomes and relevance of retrospective diagnosis, while Professor Nadey Hakin will explore the challenges of icono-diagnosis, demonstrating how sculpting the heads of well-known individuals can offer practical insights into the interpretation of facial features and artistic representations. Consequently, this event will demonstrate how clinical reasoning can be applied to historical evidence, highlighting the methodological rigour required for retrospective diagnosis and the interpretation of historical subjects, artistic representations and anatomical reconstruction.
Why attend?
Aims of the event:
The event aims to:
Learning outcomes:
By the end of this event, participants will be able to:
Who should attend?
This event is relevant to:
RSM members enjoy free access to over 200 expert-led events each year, including CPD-accredited learning.
Become a memberFollow us on:
Current President of History of Medicine Section; International Relations Director Cleveland Clinic London; Professor of General Surgery Lerner College of Medicine Cleveland Clinic; Visiting Professor of Transplantation University of Oxford; Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur; President Elect The Transplantation Society TTS; President American College of Surgeons (UK Chapter); Membre de l’Academie Nationale de Medecine; Membre de l’Academie Francaise de Chirurgie.
Chair: Professor Marguerite Dupree, President 2025 - 2026, History of Medicine Society, Royal Society of Medicine
Dr Nick Summerton, Honorary Senior Lecturer, Hull-York Medical School
Professor Nadey Hakim, Professor of Surgery and International Relations Director, Cleveland Clinic London, President 2026-2027, History of Medicine Society, Royal Society of Medicine
Chair: Professor Marguerite Dupree, President 2025 - 2026, History of Medicine Society, Royal Society of Medicine
Dr Nick Summerton, Honorary Senior Lecturer, Hull-York Medical School
Professor Nadey Hakim, Professor of Surgery and International Relations Director, Cleveland Clinic London, President 2026-2027, History of Medicine Society, Royal Society of Medicine
Royal Society of Medicine, 1 Wimpole St, Marylebone, London, W1G 0AE, United Kingdom
Registration for this event will close at 1:00am on 13 October 2026 for in-person registrants and 21 October 2026 for virtual registrants. Late registrations will not be accepted.
The agenda is subject to change.
Where the event is recorded, only presentations for which permission has been granted will be made available after the event. The availability of recordings is at the discretion of the speakers and the Royal Society of Medicine. Recordings may be distributed in the future via RSM digital channels.
All views expressed at this event are those of the individual speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Royal Society of Medicine or the speakers’ organisations.
