The Professor of Physic at Gresham College , London, gives free educational lectures to the general public, typically on medicine, health and related sciences. The college was founded for this purpose in 1597, when it created seven professorships; this was later increased to ten. Physic (the common term for medicine in this period) is one of the original professorships as set out by the will of Sir Thomas Gresham in 1575. The Professor of Physic is appointed in partnership with the Worshipful Company of Mercers. [1]
Past Professors of Physic have included leading figures in medicine, public health, surgery and clinical science, such as Sir Christopher Wren and Robert Boyle. Additionally, other eminent medical scientists and physicians were Gresham Professors of other disciplines, like Sir William Petty, one of the founders of demography, who served as Professor of Music from 1651.
Name | Started | |
---|---|---|
1 | Matthew Gwinne | March 1596 / 7 |
2 | Peter Mounsell | Sept 1607 |
3 | Thomas Winston | 25 Oct 1615 |
4 | Paul de Laune | 13 June 1643 |
5 | Thomas Winston | 20 August 1652 |
6 | Jonathan Goddard FRS | 7 Nov 1655 |
7 | John Mapletoft FRS | 27 March 1675 |
8 | Henry Paman FRS | 21 June 1679 |
9 | Edward Stillingfleet FRS | 21 June 1689 |
10 | John Woodward FRS | 13 Jan 1692-1703 |
11 | Henry Pemberton FRS | 24 May 1728 |
12 | Thomas Healde FRS | 27 March 1771 |
13 | Christopher Stanger | 25 March 1789 |
14 | Henry Herbert Southey FRS | 24 Oct 1834 |
15 | Henry Powell | 27 July 1865 |
16 | Edmund Symes-Thompson | 5 July 1867 |
17 | Fleming Mant Sandwith | 14 March 1907 |
18 | Sir Robert Armstrong-Jones | 24 May 1918 |
19 | Sir George Newman | 26 July 1929 |
20 | James Alison Glover [2] | 12 Oct 1934 |
21 | Vincent Sutherland Hodson | 13 April 1937 |
1939–45 Lectures in abeyance | ||
22 | Hamilton Hartridge FRS | 6 June 1946 |
23 | John Leonard d’Silva | 1955 |
24 | Arthur John Buller | 1962 |
25 | Invited lectures: H Harris and D V Davies | 1964-65 |
26 | J P Quilliam | 1965 |
27 | H C Stewart | 1968 |
28 | David Slome | 1970-84? |
29 | John Daniel Griffiths [3] | 1986 |
30 | Sir Kenneth L Stuart [4] | 1988 |
31 | Francis Cox [5] | 1 Sept 1992 |
32 | Susan Greenfield, Baroness Greenfield [6] | 1 Sept 1995 |
33 | Hilary Rose [7] and Steven Rose [8] | 1 Sept 1999 |
34 | Keith Kendrick [9] | 1 Sept 2002 |
35 | Christopher Dye FRS [10] | 1 Sept 2006 |
36 | William Ayliffe [11] | 1 Sept 2009 |
37 | Martin Elliott [12] | 1 Sept 2014 |
38 | Sir Chris Whitty [13] | 2018 |
39 | Robin May [14] | 2022 |
Gresham College is an institution of higher learning located at Barnard's Inn Hall off Holborn in Central London, England that does not accept students or award degrees. It was founded in 1597 under the will of Sir Thomas Gresham, and hosts over 140 free public lectures every year. Since 2001, all lectures have been made available online. As of 2024 the Provost is Professor Martin Elliott.
A Regius Professor is a university professor who has, or originally had, royal patronage or appointment. They are a unique feature of academia in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The first Regius Professorship was in the field of medicine, and founded by the Scottish King James IV at the University of Aberdeen in 1497. Regius chairs have since been instituted in various universities, in disciplines judged to be fundamental and for which there is a continuing and significant need. Each was established by an English, Scottish, or British monarch, and following proper advertisement and interview through the offices of the university and the national government, the current monarch still appoints the professor. This royal imprimatur, and the relative rarity of these professorships, means a Regius chair is prestigious and highly sought-after.
The Regius Professorship of Physic is one of the oldest professorships at the University of Cambridge, founded by Henry VIII in 1540. "Physic" is an old word for medicine : it does not refer to the study of physics. The Regius Professor of Physic is ex officio head of the School of Clinical Medicine at the University.
The Professor of Divinity at Gresham College, London, gives free educational lectures to the general public. The college was founded for this purpose in 1597, when it created seven professorships; this was later increased to ten. Divinity is one of the original professorships as set out by the will of Thomas Gresham in 1575.
The Professor of Geometry at Gresham College, London, gives free educational lectures to the general public. The college was founded for this purpose in 1597, when it created seven professorships; this was later increased to ten. Geometry is one of the original professorships as set out by the will of Thomas Gresham in 1575. The Professor of Geometry is appointed in partnership with the City of London Corporation.
The Professor of Law at Gresham College, London, gives free educational lectures to the general public. The college was founded for this purpose in 1597, when it created seven professorships; this was later increased to ten. Law is one of the original professorships as set out by the will of Thomas Gresham in 1575.
The Professor of Music at Gresham College, London, gives free educational lectures to the general public. The college was founded for this purpose in 1597, when it created seven professorships; this was later increased to ten. Music is one of the original professorships as set out by the will of Thomas Gresham in 1575.
The Professor of Rhetoric at Gresham College, London, gives free educational lectures to the general public. The college was founded for this purpose in 1597, when it created seven professorships; this was later increased to ten. Rhetoric is one of the original professorships as set out by the will of Thomas Gresham in 1575.
Visiting Professors at Gresham College, London, give free educational lectures to the general public. The college was founded for this purpose in 1597, when it created seven professorships; this was later increased to ten. The first visiting professors were appointed in 2000.
The School of Clinical Medicine is the medical school of the University of Cambridge in England. The medical school is considered as being one of the most prestigious in the world, ranking as 1st in The Complete University Guide, followed by Oxford University Medical School, Harvard Medical School, and Stanford School of Medicine and 2nd in the world in the 2023 Times Higher Education Ranking. The Cambridge Graduate Course in Medicine (A101) is the most competitive course offered by the University and in the UK, and is among the most competitive medical programs for entry in the world. The school is located alongside Addenbrooke's Hospital and other institutions in multiple buildings across the Cambridge Biomedical Campus.
The Mathematical Institute is the mathematics department at the University of Oxford in England. It is one of the nine departments of the university's Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division. The institute includes both pure and applied mathematics and is one of the largest mathematics departments in the United Kingdom with about 200 academic staff. It was ranked as the top mathematics department in the UK in the 2021 Research Excellence Framework. Research at the Mathematical Institute covers all branches of mathematical sciences ranging from, for example, algebra, number theory, and geometry to the application of mathematics to a wide range of fields including industry, finance, networks, and the brain. It has more than 850 undergraduates and 550 doctoral or masters students. The institute inhabits a purpose-built building between Somerville College and Green Templeton College on Woodstock Road, next to the Faculty of Philosophy.
Christopher Dye FRS, FMedSci is a biologist, epidemiologist and public health specialist. He is Emeritus Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Oxford and formerly Director of Strategy at the World Health Organization.
The Regius Chair of Civil Law, founded in the 1540s, is one of the oldest professorships at the University of Oxford.
The Regius Professorship of Physic is a Regius Professorship in Medicine at Trinity College Dublin. The seat dates from at least 1637, placing it amongst the oldest academic posts at the university. Mention is made in the college's Register for 1598 of an annual grant of £40 from the government for a "Physitian's pay"; this is sometimes held to be the provision made for the Chair of Physic, but it is possible that it may have been in granted for medical services required by the troops stationed in Dublin.
Henry Paman (1626–1695) was an English physician.
Matthew Gwinne was an English physician.
The Gresham College group was a loose collection of scientists in England of the 1640s and 1650s, a precursor to the Royal Society of London. Within a few years of the granting of a charter to the Royal Society in 1662, its earlier history was being written and its roots contested. There is still some debate about the effect of other groups on the way the Royal Society came into being. The composition of those other groups is unclear in parts; and the overall historiography of the early Royal Society is still often regarded as problematic. But this group has always been seen as fundamental to the course of events.
Martin John Elliott is a British surgeon. He is presently Provost of Gresham College, taking over from Simon Thurley. Elliott was 37th Professor of Physic at Gresham College from 2014 to 2018, where he is also Emeritus Professor and Fellow. He delivered a series of free public lectures on The Heart of the Matter, "to explore [...] the challenging medical, ethical, financial and political issues of our time."
Henry John Hayles Bond, FRCP was a British physician and academic. From 1851 to 1872, he was Regius Professor of Physic at the University of Cambridge.
Sir Christopher John MacRae Whitty is a British epidemiologist, serving as Chief Medical Officer for England and Chief Medical Adviser to the UK Government since 2019.