Medico-Botanical Society of London

Last updated

The Medico-Botanical Society of London (or the Royal Medico-Botanical Society of London) was a society founded in 1821 by John Frost, as director, for the avowed purpose of "investigating, by means of communications, lectures, and experiments, the medicinal properties of plants ... of promoting the study of the vegetable materia medica of all countries ... and of cultivating medical plants." [1] The Society's meetings were held at 32, Sackville Street. The first president was William George Maton, MD, FRS. His successors as president were Robert Bree, MD, FRS, the surgeon Sir James McGrigor, FRS, and Philip Henry Stanhope, 4th Earl Stanhope, FRS. [2]

Dr John Frost FRSE FSA (1803–1840) was a short-lived but influential physician and botanist who founded the Medico-Botanical Society of London, studying and cataloguing the medicinal properties of plants. He was a controversial and flamboyant figure of the early 19th century.

<i>Materia medica</i> Latin medical term for the body of collected knowledge about the therapeutic properties of any substance used for healing

Materia medica is a Latin term from the history of pharmacy for the body of collected knowledge about the therapeutic properties of any substance used for healing. The term derives from the title of a work by the Ancient Greek physician Pedanius Dioscorides in the 1st century AD, De materia medica, 'On medical material'. The term materia medica was used from the period of the Roman Empire until the 20th century, but has now been generally replaced in medical education contexts by the term pharmacology. The term survives in the title of the British Medical Journal's "Materia Non Medica" column.

Sackville Street, London street in London

Sackville Street is a street in central London which today is mainly composed of offices and the rears of retail premises, but once was the home to several important medical figures.

Frost obtained not only the chief men of science of his day as members, but also politicians and men of letters; it is said that he had twelve Sovereigns on the list of members. His mode of obtaining these names was to present an elaborate album containing the signatures of the members to any distinguished man he wanted to catch, and to inform him that he had been elected as an honorary member. [2]

In 1830 the Society abolished its office of Director and expelled John Frost because of his unpopular, presumptuous conduct and displays of vanity. [1]

It was during the presidency of the Earl of Stanhope (1829–1837) that Frost was expelled from the society (1830) for arrogant behaviour. Mathematician Charles Babbage (1791–1871), the 'father of computing', wrote scathingly of the incident in 1830 as symptomatic of the decline of science in England and observed that the society seemed more interested in recruiting the aristocracy of Europe. [3]

Charles Babbage English mathematician, philosopher, and engineer (1791-1871)

Charles Babbage was an English polymath. A mathematician, philosopher, inventor and mechanical engineer, Babbage originated the concept of a digital programmable computer.

The Transactions of the Royal Medico-Botanical Society of London were issued in three parts covering three intervals: 1821 to 1829; 1832 to 1833; and 1834 to 1837. [2] [4]

The 4th Earl Stanhope was one of the main supporters of the Society, and it ceased to exist soon after his death in 1855. [2]

Related Research Articles

John Herschel 19th-century English mathematician, astronomer, chemist and photographer

Sir John Frederick William Herschel, 1st Baronet was an English polymath, mathematician, astronomer, chemist, inventor, experimental photographer who invented the blueprint, and did botanical work.

Charles Stanhope, 3rd Earl Stanhope British scientist

Charles Stanhope, 3rd Earl Stanhope aka Charles Mahon, 3rd Earl Stanhope FRS was a British statesman and scientist. He was the father of the great traveller and Arabist Lady Hester Stanhope and brother-in-law of William Pitt the Younger. He is sometimes confused with an exact contemporary of his, Charles Stanhope, 3rd Earl of Harrington. His lean and awkward figure was extensively caricatured by James Sayers and James Gillray, reflecting his political opinions and his relationship with his children.

Philip Stanhope, 5th Earl Stanhope 19th-century English politician and antiquarian

Philip Henry Stanhope, 5th Earl Stanhope FRS, styled Viscount Mahon between 1816 and 1855, was a British politician and historian. He held political office under Sir Robert Peel in the 1830s and 1840s but is best remembered for his contributions to cultural causes and for his historical writings.

John Lindley

John Lindley FRS was an English botanist, gardener and orchidologist.

William Kirby (entomologist) English entomologist (1759-1850)

William Kirby was an English entomologist, an original member of the Linnean Society and a Fellow of the Royal Society, as well as a country priest, making him an eminent parson-naturalist. He is considered the "founder of entomology".

William Henry (chemist)

William Henry was an English chemist. He was the son of Thomas Henry and was born in Manchester England. He developed what is known today as Henry's Law.

Philip Henry Stanhope, 4th Earl Stanhope British politician

Philip Henry Stanhope, 4th Earl Stanhope FRS, was an English aristocrat, chiefly remembered for his role in the Kaspar Hauser case during the 1830s.

William Marsden (orientalist) British orientalist

William Marsden was an English orientalist, linguist, numismatist, and pioneer in the scientific study of Indonesia, serving as first secretary of the Admiralty during years of conflict with France. In 1805, Marsden received the bittersweet news of victory in the Battle of Trafalgar and of the death of Admiral Horatio Nelson in the battle.

William Sharpey

Prof William Sharpey FRS FRSE LLD was a Scottish anatomist and physiologist. He is described as the "Father of British Physiology".

Robert Graham (botanist) Scottish botanist

Robert Graham was a Scottish physician and botanist.

James McGrigor Scottish physician, military surgeon and botanist

Sir James McGrigor, 1st Baronet, LLD was a Scottish physician, military surgeon and botanist, considered to be the man largely responsible for the creation of the Royal Army Medical Corps. He served as Rector of the University of Aberdeen.

The Columbian Institute for the Promotion of Arts and Sciences (1816–1838) was a literary and science institution in Washington, D.C., founded by Dr. Edward Cutbush (1772–1843), a naval surgeon. Thomas Law had earlier suggested of such a society "at the seat of government." It was the first "learned society" established in Washington and was organized on June 28, 1816, sixteen years after the city was occupied, and less than two years after the invasion by the British troops. The second article of its constitution states: "The Institute shall consist of mathematical, physical, moral and political sciences, general literature and fine arts."

James Alderson English physician

Sir James Alderson MD, FRS was an English physician born and based in Kingston upon Hull. He was President of the Royal College of Physicians.

Edward Rudge was an English botanist and antiquary.

Edward Turner (chemist) British chemist

Prof Edward Turner MD FRS FRSE FRCPE was a Jamaican-born, British physician and chemist, known for his work on atomic weights, and as a populariser of the atomic theory of Dalton. He was the author of a popular Chemistry textbook that was the first to incorporate chemical symbols and formulae as well as organic chemistry.

Thomas Castle (c.1805–1837) was an English botanical and medical writer.

Francis Bisset Hawkins, FRS, FRCP was an English physician.

References

  1. 1 2 "John Frost, Esq. F.S.A." The Gentleman's Magazine. Vol. 169. December 1840. pp. 664–666.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Bailey, James Blake (13 July 1895), "The Medical Institutions of London, The Medical Societies of London (part 4)", The British Medical Journal, 2 (1802): 100–103, doi:10.1136/bmj.2.1802.100
  3. ↑ "Medico-Botanical Society of London". Global Plants, JSTOR.
  4. ↑ Transactions, 1834 to 1837.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.