Annals of the Royal College of Physicians
Item
Country
GB
Name of institution (official language of the state)
Language of name of institution
eng
Contact information: postal address
11 St Andrews Place, London NW1 4LE
Contact information: phone number
0044 (0)20 3075 1510
Contact information: web address
Contact information: email
history@rcp.ac.uk
Reference number
MS4142-4218
Type of reference number
Archival reference number
Title (official language of the state)
Annals of the Royal College of Physicians
Language of title
eng
Creator / accumulator
Royal College of Physicians
Date(s)
1518/1975
Language(s)
eng
Extent
77 storage units
Type of material
Textual Material
Physical condition
Good
Scope and content
This series of the College Committees fonds comprises the official proceedings of the Royal College of Physicians of London, known as Comitia, organised into 87 volumes. Volume X includes records on the dispute opposing Meyer Schomberg and the Portuguese Jewish physician Jacob de Castro Sarmento in 1738. Sarmento accused Schomberg of defamation after the latter had disseminated a libel about a supposed bad treatment of a patient (Benjamin Mendes da Costa). Isaac Lusitano de Pina is one of the witnesses. Sarmento submitted his complaint to the disciplinary committee of the Royal College. See the published documents in Samuel (1959).
Administrative / Biographical history
During the early 1500s, medical practice in England lacked formal regulation. By 1518, six leading medical men, including Thomas Linacre (1460-1524) persuaded King Henry VIII to establish a College of Physicians. The founding Royal Charter, issued on September 23, 1518, allowed these six men to grant licenses to those qualified to practise and to prosecute those that engaged in malpractice. The Charter was affirmed by an Act of Parliament in 1523, extending its powers from London to the whole of England.
The Royal College of Physicians has had a library and institutional archive since its foundation in 1518 and a museum since the mid-1600s, when respected fellow William Harvey (1578-1657) made a series of generous donations. Unfortunately, most of the founding archives, original books and the original museum were destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666. Soon after the ashes began to cool, activity restarted, and the archives were slowly built back up again. Later donations to the college helped to re-establish the book and museum collections.
The Royal College of Physicians has had a library and institutional archive since its foundation in 1518 and a museum since the mid-1600s, when respected fellow William Harvey (1578-1657) made a series of generous donations. Unfortunately, most of the founding archives, original books and the original museum were destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666. Soon after the ashes began to cool, activity restarted, and the archives were slowly built back up again. Later donations to the college helped to re-establish the book and museum collections.
Access points: locations
Access points: persons, families
Access points: subject terms
Access points: document types
System of arrangement
Records are arranged chronologically
Access, restrictions
Institutional records closed for 20 years after creation. Open access after 20 years.
Links to finding aids
Author of the description
Carla Vieira, 2023
Published primary sources
Linked resources
Filter by property
| Title | Alternate label | Class |
|---|---|---|
| Royal College of Physicians | Collections (official language of the state) |