Hunterian Society
Encyclopedia
Surgeon
In medicine, a surgeon is a specialist in surgery. Surgery is a broad category of invasive medical treatment that involves the cutting of a body, whether human or animal, for a specific reason such as the removal of diseased tissue or to repair a tear or breakage...
John Hunter
John Hunter (surgeon)
John Hunter FRS was a Scottish surgeon regarded as one of the most distinguished scientists and surgeons of his day. He was an early advocate of careful observation and scientific method in medicine. The Hunterian Society of London was named in his honour...
(1728–1793), is a society of physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
s and dentist
Dentist
A dentist, also known as a 'dental surgeon', is a doctor that specializes in the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases and conditions of the oral cavity. The dentist's supporting team aides in providing oral health services...
s based in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
Established by Dr William Cooke, a general practitioner
General practitioner
A general practitioner is a medical practitioner who treats acute and chronic illnesses and provides preventive care and health education for all ages and both sexes. They have particular skills in treating people with multiple health issues and comorbidities...
, and Thomas Armiger, a surgeon, who both practiced in the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
and the East End of London
East End of London
The East End of London, also known simply as the East End, is the area of London, England, United Kingdom, east of the medieval walled City of London and north of the River Thames. Although not defined by universally accepted formal boundaries, the River Lea can be considered another boundary...
, the Society has devoted its activities for nearly two hundred years towards the pursuit of medical knowledge and learning. Meetings are always held over dinner, which precedes the subject for debate.
Between 1815 and 1828, Sir William Blizard
William Blizard
Sir William Blizard was an English surgeon.He was born in Barn Elms, Surrey, the fourth child of auctioneer William Blizard. After an apprenticeship to a surgeon in Mortlake he went to study at the London Hospital where he was a pupil of Sir Percivall Pott and John Hunter...
(1743–1835), who was a former pupil of John Hunter, praised Hunter at the Royal College of Surgeons of England
Royal College of Surgeons of England
The Royal College of Surgeons of England is an independent professional body and registered charity committed to promoting and advancing the highest standards of surgical care for patients, regulating surgery, including dentistry, in England and Wales...
in three Hunterian Orations, and it is believed to be due to his influence that the new Society adopted the name 'Hunterian', rather than 'The London Medical and Physical Society', which was the name first proposed for it.
Blizard became the Society's first President and had the aim of keeping it within the Hunterian tradition. In an oration of 1826, he said: "May the honoured name of Hunter ever have a magic influence on the minds of its members".
The Society promotes an annual oration and awards an annual medal.
Hunterian Society Oration
According to the rules of the society: "The Annual Oration, to be called the Hunterian Society Oration, shall be delivered by the Orator for the current session, at a Meeting of the Society. The primary purpose of the Oration is to Commemorate the life and work of John Hunter, as also of his brother William Hunter, and to set forth the influence of the Hunterian example and tradition in the development of the science and art of Medicine. This tradition includes exact observation, experiment, and the application of anatomical and physiological science, human and comparative, to practical Medicine.It is not intended to exclude from the scope of the Annual Oration topics bearing upon the History of Medicine, and upon the relation of Medicine to other sciences and to human life in its widest sense, as well as other topics which cannot suitably be made the subject of an ordinary medical communication".. Not to be confused with the Hunterian oration at the Royal College of Surgeons of EnglandRoyal College of Surgeons of England
The Royal College of Surgeons of England is an independent professional body and registered charity committed to promoting and advancing the highest standards of surgical care for patients, regulating surgery, including dentistry, in England and Wales...
.
Hunterian Society medal
The gold medal has been awarded annually since 1932 for the best essay on a subject selected by the society.The silver medal has been awarded since 1908 for the best essay by a general practitioner which embodied the results of his own investigations on the subject of medicine, surgery or midwifery.
The Society gives an annual prize, which is awarded for a presentation on a subject connected to the history of medicine, which "...may be modern but should have a Hunterian flavour". The Award is of £1,000, a medal and one year's membership of the Society.
Notable members
- Sir William BlizardWilliam BlizardSir William Blizard was an English surgeon.He was born in Barn Elms, Surrey, the fourth child of auctioneer William Blizard. After an apprenticeship to a surgeon in Mortlake he went to study at the London Hospital where he was a pupil of Sir Percivall Pott and John Hunter...
(President, 1819–1822) - Sir Benjamin TraversBenjamin TraversBenjamin Travers was a British surgeon.He was born in Cheapside, London, the second of the ten children of Joseph Travers, a London sugar broker. After being educated at Cheshunt Grammar School, he was further educated privately before joining his father's counting house in 1799.In August, 1800 he...
, (President, 1827) - Jonathan HutchinsonJonathan HutchinsonSir Jonathan Hutchinson , was an English surgeon, ophthalmologist, dermatologist, venereologist and pathologist.-Life:He was born in Selby, Yorkshire, England of Quaker parents and educated in the local school...
(President, 1869–1870) - Thomas Bryant (President, 1873)
- John Braxton HicksJohn Braxton HicksJohn Braxton Hicks was a 19th century English doctor who specialised in obstetrics.He was born to Edward Hicks in Rye, Sussex. He was educated privately and in 1841 entered Guy's Hospital Medical School. He obtained his MB at the University of London in 1845 and an MD in 1851...
, (President, 1879} - Philip Henry Pye-SmithPhilip Henry Pye-SmithPhilip Henry Pye-Smith was a physician, medical scientist and educator. His interest was physiology, specialising in skin diseases....
- William Henry KelsonWilliam Henry KelsonWilliam Henry Kelson FRCS FZS was an English physician and writer, President of the Hunterian Society, Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons and of the Zoological Society of London.-Early life:...
(President) - Sir Cecil WakeleyCecil WakeleySir Cecil Pembrey Grey Wakeley, 1st Baronet KBE CB was a British surgeon.-Biography:He was born the eldest son of 12 children at Meresborough House in the country near Rainham, Kent, the son of Percy Wakeley and his first wife Mary Sophia "May" Pembrey...
, (President}