RCGP Archives

Tracing Your Medical Ancestors

 
The CowPox
 
The RCGP archives only holds limited biographical material about its own members [see MRCGP below for further information]  remember the College was only founded in 1952 so if the person you are researching was prior to that it is unlikely that we will hold anything about him/her at all.
 
There are a number of useful printed sources to use when looking for genealogical/biographical information about the medical professional. N.B. These sources are not held in the RCGP library or archives but most of them are available at the BMA Library, Wellcome Library, Guildhall Library and other large reference and medical libraries. A helpful work is Susan Bourne and Andrew H. Chicken's self published book Records of the Medical Professions - A Practical Guide for the Family Historian available from the The Society of Genealogists or from the Family Tree Magazine mail order service.

  1. Directoriesuks
  2. Apprenticeship Records
  3. University Rolls
  4. Medical School Publications 
  5. Obituaries UK
  6. Medical Colleges - Biographical Publications and Qualifications
  7. Overseas Inofrmation


1. Directories

The annual Medical Directory (1845 - date) and the Medical Register (1859 - date) should be your starting point in researching your medical ancestor these publications include names, addresses, qualifications, medical school and some publications for each doctor. The Medical Register will have an entry for every doctor who is allowed to practice in it, inclusion in the Medical Directory is not compulsory but it has more information about each person. Doctors’ deaths are usually deducible only from the year that they disappear but some names will appear in an obituary section.
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2. Apprenticeship Records

P. J. and R.V. Wallis, Eighteenth Century Medics (subscriptions, licenses, apprenticeships) 2nd Edition (Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Project for Historical Bibliography, 1988). This index is largely to the information from subscription lists of books published in the eighteenth century including medical treatises and other works.
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3. University rolls

MB = Bachelor of Medicine, 
BM = Bachelor of Medicine,
ChB= Bachelor of Surgery,
BS BChir = Bachelor of Surgery,
MD = Doctor of Medicine,
DM = Doctor of Medicine,


These are common first qualifications from medical schools/universities. The Medical Directory has a full list of qualifications and their abbreviations at the front of each volume.
 
Details of the careers of those medical practitioners who were university graduates can often be found in published university membership listse.g. biographical registers are published of members of Oxford University, c.1200-1886, and of Cambridge University, 1261-1900; graduates of Glasgow University are listed in A Roll of the Graduates of the University of Glasgow, 1727-1897 compiled by W. Innes Addison, Glasgow, 1898. Universities might also have alumni publications which publish news and obituaries of their graduates.
 
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4. Medical School publications

The Medical Directory  will tell you which medical school the doctor attended, some of these schools have their own journals which will include news and obituaries about their alumni e.g. St Bartholomew's [Barts], Guys Hospital Gazette, St George's Hospital Gazette, Oxford Medical School Gazette,  London Hospital Gazette, Magazine of the Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine, Magazine of the London School of Medicine for Women, University of Leeds Medical Journal, Manchester University School Gazette.
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5. Obituaries

Obituaries are published in Royal College journals as well as Medical School and University publications - it is also worth checking:
 
General Medical Publications such as The Lancet (from 1823) and the BMJ British Medical Journal (from 1828), Medical Times [later Medical Times & Gazette] (1839-1885), Glasgow Medical Journal (from 1828) and the Edinburgh Medical Journal (from 1805)
 
Journals of Medical and Scientific Societies e.g. Linnean Society, Medical Society of London, New Sydenham Society, Hunterian Society, The Royal Society, Royal Society of Medicine [Previously Royal Medical & Chirurgical Society of London]; Northumberland and Durham Medical Society, Royal Medical Society, Bristol Medico-Chirurgical Society, Leeds & West Riding Medico-Chirurgical Society; Manchester Literary & Philosophical Society, Manchester Medical Society, Philosophical Society of Glasgow, Royal Medical & Chirurgical Society of Glasgow, West London Medico-Chirurgical Society, West Kent Medico-Chirurgical Society, Cardiff Medical Society, Cambridge Medical Society, Literary and Philosophical Society of Liverpool, Westminster Medical Society. The British Library will be able to tell you where these journals are held.
 
General Publications such as the 18th Century Journal The Gentleman's Magazine, "The Dictionary of National Biography" and the "The Times" also sometimes publish medical obituaries. The Wellcome library has an index to obituaries published in The Gentleman's Magazine in its biography room.
 
Local Newspapers- the Medical Directory will give a good indication of the area in which the doctor lived and local newspapers and archives may have some useful sources see ARCHON for details of your local record office.
 
The Wellcome Library is currently digitalising back-runs of many major medical journals which will make them easily accessible and searchable online.
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6. Royal Medical Colleges - Biographical Publications

The Medical Directory and/or Medical Register will tell you the qualification and memberships held of any given doctor - there are a too many to list here as apart from Associateship, Licentiateship, Membership and Fellowship of the medical Royal Colleges many of them also examine and award specialist diplomas e.g. DDM = Diploma in Dermatological Medicine, DPH = Diploma in Public Health.
 
Whilst most of the medical Royal Colleges will not hold much information about their ordinary members or licentiates there is a tradition of publishing biographies of of some of the Royal Colleges after their deaths.

Physicians

The term 'physician' traditionally described a person who diagnosed internal disorders, as opposed to one who performed surgery or dispensed medicines. However, some physicians, particularly in the 19th century, also worked in other areas of medical practice. Not all doctors who called themselves `physician' belonged to one of the Colleges of Physicians. The Hospital Records database may be a useful resource for hospital based physicians [and surgeons].
 
FRCP [Lon] = Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of London
 

Royal College of Physicians of London

Biographies of physicians who were fellows of the Royal College of Physicians of London 1518-1825 can be found in W. Munk, Roll of the Royal College of Physicians, Vols 1-3 1518-1825 [all members and licentiates]; Vols. 4-10 (entitled Munk's Roll and covering Fellows only 1826-1997.  The index to the entire Munk's roll is available online with full text of deaths post 1997.Later entries are available from the Royal College of Physicians of London 
 
Physicians in London and the vicinity 1529-c.1767 can sometimes be traced in ecclesiastical licensing records which can be found in local record offices and at the Guildhall Library.  John Baach - A Directory of English County Physicians 1603-1643. 1962 is based upon ecclesiastical Records.
 
LRCP/MRCS = Licentiate of the Royal College of  Physicians of London; Member of Royal College of Surgeons of London See below.
 
FRCPE = Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
 
MRCP [UK] = Member of the Royal Colleges of Physicians of the United Kingdom.
 
The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh was founded by a charter in 1681, this set down regulations for the license to practise, required University graduates to be licensed without examination or fee, and did not allow the creation of a medical school. Later, there were modifications and a supplementary Charter in 1920 allowed women to be admitted to the diplomas. From the beginning the College was given powers to examine drugs and medicines and to reject those that were below standard.
 
Eventually, agreement with the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh led to a joint diploma in 1859 and with the collaboration of the Royal Faculty (now Royal College) of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow this became the triple diploma in 1884 see below. this examination still continues.
 
`Membership` was introduced  in 1860 as an intermediate stage between Licentiate and Fellow and was followed by expansion of postgraduate training. In 1945 the Edinburgh Postgraduate Board for Medicine was formed. Until 1971 the Membership examination included both general medicine a nd a special subject. The choice of special subjects was wide and included laboratory sciences as well as clinical specialties. Under an agreement with the Colleges in London and Glasgow to hold a joint examination (MRCP UK) the special subject was dropped.
 For obituaries see The Journal of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh [Previously called Proceedings of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.
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Surgeons

The term 'surgeon' traditionally described a person who performed operations with the use of surgical instruments. However some surgeons, particularly in the 19th century, also worked in other areas of medical practice.

FRCS [Eng ]= Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England

Royal College of Surgeons of England
 
For biographical information about surgeons, whether in London or elsewhere, who belonged to the Company of Surgeons, 1745-1800, or the Royal College of Surgeons (of England) 1800- see  Plarr's Lives of the Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons, 7 vols. covering the years 1844-1996. For later obituaries see Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons.
LRCP/MRCS=Licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians, Member of the Royal College of Surgeons  see below. FRCS [Ed] = Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh
 
The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh was granted its “Seal of Cause” by Edinburgh Town Council on 1st July 1505.  This was ratified in the following year by King James IV of Scotland.  It is to this charter that the College traces its origins as the oldest medical incorporation in the world.
 
Surgeons' Lives; a compendium of illustrated biographies of notable Fellows spanning the College's 500-year history, from the 16th century to the present day. [to be published 2005].
 
See also The Journal of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh obituaries section.
 
FRCPSG = Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow
 
Lic.R.Coll.Phys.Edn.,= Licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh;
Lic.Fac.Phys.Surg.Glasg. =Licentiate of the Faculty of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow

The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow was founded in 1599 was from the end of the 17th Century known as the Faculty of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow. This title remained until 1909 when the Faculty was allowed to add the prefix 'Royal' to its name, and in 1962 a further change resulted in its present title of Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow.

Licentiate The grade of "licentiate" was instituted in 1785 to allow the admission of country practitioners. Details about such licentiates may be gained from the Register of Single Licentiates, 1815-1959 in the College Archive.
 
The Double and Triple Qualifications- During the latter part of the nineteenth century the Scottish medical colleges began to offer joint medical and surgical qualifications. The Double Qualification in Medicine and Surgery was established between the Faculty of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow and the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh in 1859. Recipients were listed in the Medical Register as having the letters "Lic.R.Coll.Phys.Edn., Lic.Fac.Phys.Surg.Glasg."
 
The Triple Qualification came into being in 1884 and was offered by the Royal College of Physicians, Edinburgh, the Royal College of Surgeons, Edinburgh and the Faculty of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow. It resulted in extremely long letters after the qualifying person's name.
In the Medical Register for 1891, for example, Robert Brooks Popham, is listed as "Lic.R.Coll.Phys.Edin, 1886. Lic.R.Coll.Surg,Edin, 1886. Lic.Fac.Phys.S urg.Glasg., 1886.
 
"See Alexander Duncan, Memorials of the Faculty of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, 1599-1850, Maclehose and Sons, Glasgow, 1896
 
Johanna Geyer-Kordesch and Fiona Macdonald, Physicians and Surgeons in Glasgow, The History of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, 1599-1858, Hambledon Press, 1999

Andrew Hull and Johanna Geyer-Kordesch, The Shaping of the Medical Profession, The History of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons o f Glasgow, 1858-1999, Hambledon Press, 1999

James J. Beaton, Roy Miller and Iain T. Boyle (eds), Treasures of the College, Carnyx Group, Glasgow, 1998
 
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Obstetricians and Gynaecologists

FRCOG =Fellow of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
 
Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
This College was founded in 1929. See "The lives of the fellows of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists :1929-1969" compiled by Sir John Peel Heinemann Medical Books, 1976.
 
Later obituaries are published  in the RCOG News (formerly President's Newsletter). These would only tend to be of the really "important" Fellows and Members. The British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology used to carry them but not any more. Other than that, the deaths of all Fellows get reported to Council and therefore are noted in the minutes - contact the archivist for further details.
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Apothecaries

LSA =Licentiate of the Society of Apothecaries LMSSA = Licentiate in Medicine, Surgery and Midwifery of the Society of Apothecaries
The term 'apothecary' traditionally described a person who dispensed medicines and who would now be called a chemist or a druggist.
 
The Society of Apothecaries was incorporated as a City Livery Company by royal charter from James I on 6 December 1617 in recognition of apothecaries' specialist skills in compounding and dispensing medicines. In 1704 the Society won a key legal suit (known as the Rose Case) against the Royal College of Physicians in the House of Lords, which ruled that apothecaries could both prescribe and dispense medicines. This led directly to the evolution of the apothecary into today's general practitioner of medicine. From 1815 onwards most medical practitioners who were described as apothecaries can be found in the licentiateship records of the Society of Apothecaries,  before that date many "apothecaries" (particularly those outside London) belonged to no professional body, and their activities may well be unrecorded. A list of all apothecaries from 1715-1840 (on microfilm) has been published by the The Society of Genealogists
 
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Psychiatrists

FRCPsych = Fellow of Royal College of Psychiatriasts
The Royal College of Psychiatrists is the professional body for Psychiatrists in the British Isles. It began in 1841 as the Association of Medical Officers of Asylums and Hospitals for the Insane, was later known as the (Royal) Medico-Psychological Association and changed its status to a medical royal college with membership by examination in 1971.
 
Membership lists were printed in the Journal of Mental Science  from the 1850s to the 1960s; these are in the College Library. Year Books from the 1930s to late 1969s listing members are in the archives.
The British Journal of Psychiatry [1962- previously Journal of Mental Science (1855-1962) until recently published obituaries of all important psychiatrists. The Psychiatric Bulletin carries current obituaries. http://pb.rcpsych.org/
 
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Doctors, General Practitioners

LRCP/MRCS = Licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians, Member of the Royal College of Surgeons
The term 'general practitioner' did not come into use until the 1820s. Many, perhaps most, general practitioners obtained the licentiateship of the Society of Apothecaries LSA.  Some, however, described themselves as surgeons or (more rarely) physicians, and obtained another qualification as well as, or instead of, the licentiateship from 1880's the most common qualification for General Practitioners was the "conjoint" LRCP/MRCS [Licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians/Member of the Royal College of Surgeons of England]. Neither of these Colleges hold much information about their ordinary members or licentiates beyond that which is available in the Medical Directory.
 
Details of the qualification(s) of medical practitioners from 1845 can be found in Medical Directories and Medical Registers.
 
MRCGP  =Member of the Royal College of General Practitioners
 
FRCGP= Fellow of the Royal College of General Practitioners
 
The College of General Practitioners [later Royal College of General Practitioners] was founded in 1952, however members were not allowed to use the designation "MCGP" after their names, although the editor of The Medical Directory agreed to note the membership in the practitioners personal entry with the information relating to learned societies. From 1967 entry for membership was by examination [there are other routes to membership including assessment today] and its first Fellows were appointed, a year after the College got it's Royal designation.  It was from this point that members in good standing could use MRCGP or FRCGP after their names.
 
Obituaries - some eminent general practitioners have obituaries published in the BJGP [British Journal of General Practice - formerly Journal of the (Royal) College of General Practitioners].  It is worth checking the BMJ obituaries section too. The RCGP archives has an "obituary roll" which notes the death dates of all members up until 1979 together with extracts of published obituaries. When known all deaths of members are reported at quarterly Council meetings. There is also a small collection of published obituaries c.1955 to date, mostly cuttings from the BMJ although obituaries/appreciations are sometimes published in the BJGP [formerly JRCGP Journal of the (Royal) College of General Practice] and in Faculty Newsletters. Recent Obituaries of members are published on this website
 
Some biographical information e.g. CV's are held on senior members and Fellows of the College - access to this may be restricted. For further information contact the archivist.
 
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Army and Navy Surgeons and Other Armed Forces Medical Officers

Medical officers serving in the Army, 1660-1960, are listed in A Peterkin, W Johnston and R Drew, Commissioned officers in the medical services of the British Army, 2 vols (1968), available at Guildhall Library and many other reference libraries.
 
Prospective Navy surgeons had to be examined by, and receive certificates from, the Barber-Surgeons' company or (from 1745) its successor bodies - the Surgeons Company [later College of Surgeons later Royal College of Surgeons]. Guildhall Library has records of certificates issued 1705-45:
 
More detailed information about naval surgeons can be found in the Admiralty records, 1660-19th century, at the National Archives, Ruskin Avenue, Kew, Surrey, TW9 4DU: these are described in Bruno Pappalardo, Tracing Your Naval Ancestors (PRO readers' guide 24, 2002). Guildhall Library has a typescript index of naval surgeons' certificates 1700-54, taken from Admiralty sources. From 1793 surgeons are listed in most of the annual volumes of the Navy List, available at Guildhall Library and some other reference libraries.
 
Details of medical officers in all branches of the armed forces from 1845 can be found in Medical Directories: see above
 
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Overseas

Ireland
'Tracing Medical Ancestors' - available from Mary O'Doherty, the Archivist at Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland ,123 St. Stephen's Green, Dublin 2, Ireland.

Directories:

Irish Medical Directory 1843-1846; Medical directory for Ireland.1852-1860 In the past, particularly before the establishment of the Republic of Ireland, doctors qualified and/or practising in Ireland were included in the Medical Directory. It is still not uncommon for Irish doctors to have spend some time training in the UK, there is now a separate Irish Medical Directory, which includes obituaries online.

Medical Royal Colleges

FRCPI = Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland
The Royal College of Physicians of Ireland was founded in 1692 and has a complete set of registers of Fellows and Members http://www.rcpi.ie/. A charge is made for doing genealogical research.
 
FRCSI = Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland
The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland was granted a Charter on 11th February 1784. In 1844 a supplemental Charter was obtained from Queen Victoria. The chief provision of this was the institution of the Fellowship which divided Graduates into Licentiates and Fellows.
 
The Mercer Library holds the records of The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland their collection includes an index of the Kirkpatrick Archive of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland - a collection of newspaper cuttings and earlier material about Irish Doctors up to 1954.
 
 J B Lyons A pride of professors :the professors of medicine at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland 1813-1985. RCSI 1999
J B Lyons Brief Lives of Irish Doctors 1978
 
C.A. Cameron History of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, and of the Irish Schools of Medicine. 1916
 
MICGP = Member of Irish College of General Practitioners Until this College was founded in 1984 many Irish general practitioners belonged to the RCGP.

Irish Medical Schools

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Canada

The Osler Library has, for many years, maintained an "obituary file" of Canadian medical obituaries and death notices. This file is an INDEX which refers researchers to the full obituary http://www.health.library.mcgill.ca/osler/cfstand/chobit.htm
 
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Australia

Australian  Medical Pioneers Index a database of over 3,000 pioneer doctors, from the 1700s through to 1875.  It includes doctors who were registered or qualified in Australia, were resident in Australia, or visited here in a professional capacity, before 1875. Ships' surgeons, convict doctors, general practitioners and medical specialists are included. Until the first Australian medical graduates entered the profession in the 1860s, all Australian doctors were educated and obtained their qualifications overseas. In the early colonial period, the vast majority of Australian doctors were emigrants from the United Kingdom. When the gold rushes started, this trend continued, although a few additional doctors emigrated from America, New Zealand, India, and Europe. In the middle colonial period, some doctors who were born here, or had immigrated as children, went to study at medical schools in the United Kingdom, returning to Australia to practice. In the later colonial period most new doctors were Australians who were trained in Melbourne or Sydney. A number of Australian doctors prior to 1948 will have done some or all of their training in the UK and will be included in the UK Medical Directory in the overseas section.

Directory

Australasian Medical Directory and Handbook 1883-1900 Medical Directory of Australia 1948 - date https://www.mda.com.au/

Obituaries

The Medical Journal of Australia This was founded in 1914 as an amalgamation of the Australasian Medical Gazette (published by the NSW Branch of the British Medical Association since 1881) and the Australian Medical Journal (published by the Victorian Branch of the BMA since 1856). Obituaries published in recent issues are available online and copies of earlier issues can be ordered at  http://www.mja.com.au/.

Medical Schools


Medical Colleges

FRACP= Fellow of the Royal Australian College of Physicians
The RACP was founded in 1938. It is a professional organisation consisting of over 9,000 Fellows and Trainees combined. Fellows are qualified physicians and paediatricians who completed their training with the College. They practise in all Australian States and Territories, New Zealand and in many countries throughout the world. RACP News publishes obituaries.
FRACS = Fellow of the Royal Australian College of Surgeons
Founded in 1927 The RACS is an internationally recognised organisation for 5400 surgeons who are based mainly in Australia and New Zealand. Approximately 90 per cent of all surgeons practising in Australia and New Zealand are Fellows of the RACS (FRACS). It's publication Surgical News includes obituaries http://www.racs.edu.au/.
FRANZCP= Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists  http://www.ranzcp.org/
Rubinstein, WD and Hilary L Rubinstein, 1996. Menders of the mind: A history of The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists 1946-1996. Melbourne: Oxford University Press
The history of the birth and development of the RANZCP as a specialist medical College and charts the likely future of the College in relation to probable developments in the nature and more than forty interviews with prominent College members, conducted between 1993 and mid-1995.
FRACGP= Royal Australian College of General Practitioners http://www.racgp.org.au/.
Researching the History of your practice by Dr David Dammery
FRACOG=Royal Australian College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
The Australian College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists was formally established in 1978. The prefix 'Royal' was acquired in 1980 when it became the Royal Australian College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RACOG). The College Archives contain the administrative records of the College, and personal papers of Fellows and Members, which may provide a further valuable resource for research.

New South Wales

Medical registration began in NSW in 1838, and was extended to the Port Phillip district in 1844. The medical register was an official list of legally qualified medical practitioners (although army and navy surgeons, who were not always qualified, could also register). Initially registration was voluntary, but the legislation was steadily tightened up, until unregistered medical practice was effectively illegal. The later registers for Victoria, due to new arrangements which came into force in 1862, always listed doctors who had been registered before 1862 as having been first registered in that year.
The records of the New South Wales Medical Board are widely available on microfilm in Australia and qualifications will be given. Their list of registered Medical Practitioners appears in the NSW Gazette from 1838. The catalogue of The State Library of New South Wales, Macquarie Street, Sydney NSW 2000 AUSTRALIA, shows they hold 1838-1942 under reference number MDQ 328.6/1.

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South Africa

Up until the 1960's many South African medical professionals undertook all or some of their training in the United Kingdom and information about them may be found in in UK Medical Directory and other UK sources.
 

Directories

Register of Medical Practitioners, Interns and Dentists for the Republic of South Africa [formerly Medical and Dental Register for the Union of South Africa] 1924-1998
 

Journals

South African Medical Journal published by the South African Medical Association [previously Medical Journal of South Africa [1913-1926] previously Transvaal Medical Journal] publishes obituaries.http://www.inasp.info/ajol/journals/sam/index.html
 

South African Medical Schools

 

Apothecaries

http://www.genealogy.co.za/chemists.html

List of the Apothecaries, Chemists,  and Druggists, Licensed In The Cape Colony up to 31st March 1870

Medical Practitioners

List of Medical Practitioners licensed in the Cape Colony up to 31st March 1870 http://www.genealogy.co.za/doctors.html  

Colleges

FCMSA =Fellow of the College of Medicine of South Africa

The Colleges of Medicine South Africa formerly South African College of Medicine formerly College of Physicians, Surgeons, Obstetricians and Gynaecologists was founded in 1955. The College also incorporates the College of General Practitioner of South Africa from 1970  which itself was originally a Faculty of the Royal College of General Practitioners 1958-1968]   Transactions of the College of Physicians, Surgeons and Gynaecologists of South Africa 1957-1971 became Transactions of the College of Medicine of South Africa 1971-date.

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America

U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM)- History of Medicine Division Website. Their collection includes dictionaries of medical biography, medical directories, and obituary indexes, primarily from the 19th century

Directories

American Medical Directory 1906-1990 became Directory of Physicians in the United States 1990-date
 
Directory of deceased American physicians, 1804-1929: a genealogical guide to over 149,000 medical practitioners providing brief biographical sketches, published in 1993 by the American Medical Association [AMA].  AMA Obituary Listings June 2003  onwards - http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/7255.html
 
Medical register and directory of the United States, systematically arranged by States : comprising names, post office address, educational and professional status of more than fifty thousand physicians ; with lists of medical societies, colleges, hospitals ... with abstracts of medical laws of each State, notices of mineral springs, etc. / by Samuel W. Butler 1878
 

The Medical directory of the city of New York published under the auspices of the Medical Society of the County of New York. New York, 1886-1905

Medical directory of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut 1889-1949

The medical and dental register-directory and intelligencer of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware. George Keil, editor. Published: Philadelphia, 1892.

Collected Medical Biographies

James Thacher, American Medical Biography 1828 reprinted New York: Milford House,1967)
 
Stephen Williams, American Medical Biography, 1845 reprinted New York: Milford House, 1967)
 
Samuel D. Gross, ed., The Lives of Eminent American Physicians and Surgeons of the Nineteenth Century (1861)
 
Atkinson, William B. The Physicians And Surgeons Of The United States. Philadelphia, Robson, 1878.
 
Stone, Richard F., editor. Biography Of Eminent American Physicians And Surgeons. 2nd rev. and enl. ed. Indianapolis, Hollenbeck, 1898. p. 857, (the first edition was briefer, published in 1894)
 
Watson, Irving A., editor. Physicians And Surgeons Of America...A Collection Of Biographical Sketches Of The Regular Medical Profession. Concord, New Hampshire, Republican Press Association, 1896.
 
Kelly, Howard A., and Walter L. Burrage. Dictionary Of American Medical Biography; Lives Of Eminent Physicians Of The United States And Canada, From The Earliest Times. New York, Appleton, 1928. p. 1,364
 
Martin Kaufman, Stuart Galishoff, Todd L. Savitt, editors ; Joseph Carvalho III, editorial associate. Dictionary of American medical biography Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, 1984.
 
Cleave's Biographical Cyclopædia of Homœopathic Physicians and Surgeons
 

Medical Journals

Holloway, Lisabeth M., Ernest N. Feind, and George N. Holloway. Medical Obituaries: American Physician's Biographical Notices In Selected Medical Journals Before 1907. New York, Garland, 1981. p. 513.
 
The New England Journal of Medicine (1812- date) published obituaries in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
 

Colleges & Societies

From the 18th century  until today medical societies have been  very popular in America many have published Transactions and/or Journals, directories of members and so on - these may be found in major medical libraries  (See  Medical Libraries on the Web.) such as The College of Physicians of Philadelphia, Yale University, Harvard University; The New York Academy of Medicine.

National Societies

see Membership directory of national medical societies of the United States. Philadelphia 1900
 

Physicians

MACP = Member of American College of Physicians
American College of Physicians (1915-date)  incorporates American Society of Internal Medicine 1956-1998)  (American Board of Internal Medicine 1936-1956).
Obituaries are published in the ACP-ASIM Observer http://www.acponline.org/.
 
Directory American College of Physicians 1929- date
  • American Medical Society ( est.c.1770-); 
  • America Philosophical Society ( from c.1789-date. see Transactions of the American Philosophical Society ); 
  •  American Medical Association (est.1860);

General Practitions of Family Physicians

MAAFP =  Member American Academy of Family Physicians
 
American Academy of Family Physicians  see Center for the History of Family Medicine  (CHFM), an arm of the AAFP  was officially established in 1992 to actively collect, organize, preserve and provide access to the records of the leading family medicine organizations involved in all aspects of the specialty. It also solicits personal and professional papers of family physicians and family medicine educators before and after 1969 when it officially became the 20th specialty in American medicine

Dermatologists

  • American Academy of Dermatology (est.1938);

Neurologists

Opthalmologists

  • American Academy of Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology (from c.1909-);
  • American Opthalomological Society see http://www.nlm.nih.gov/hmd/manuscripts/msc.htmlNLM MS C 010 American Ophthalmological Society. Notebooks relating to early history of the society, its membership and its publications.1864-1939;

Orthopaedics

  • American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons [AAOS] (est. 1933)
  • American Orthopaedic Society (from 1877-);
  • American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (est. 1972)

Paediatricians

  • American Academy of Paediatrics (from 1842-); Publishes annual Directory of Fellows
  • Society for Research in Child Development (est.1935-);

Surgeons

Cardiologists

  • American Heart Association (est. 1911);
  • American College of Chest Physicians (1935-);

Clinicians

  • American Clinical & Climatological Association (est. 1884);
  • American Laryngological Association (1879- date) see Transactions;
  • American Otological Society (est.1868)
  • American Society for Clinical Investigation 1907-77 http://www.nlm.nih.gov/hmd/manuscripts/ead/asci.html ;
  • Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology - includes American Association of Immunologists, American Association of Pathologists, American Institute of Nutrition; American Physiological Society (est.1887), American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics and the American Society of Biological Chemists.
  • Interurban Clinical Club (1905-1976);
  • American Society of Nephrology (est.1967);

Obstetricians & Gynacologists

  • American College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (est.1950);
  • American Gynaecological Society (est.1876- see Album of the fellows of the American Gynaecological Society, 1876-1930);

Public Health

  • American Public Health Association;
  • National Tuberculosis Association (est. 1904);

Urologists

  •  American Urological Association (est. 1902)

Anaesthetists

  • The American Society of Anaesthesiologists [ASA] (est. 1905). Its library The  Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology has been publishing a continuing series of autobiographies of prominent leaders in anesthesiology since 1997.   Careers In Anesthesiology  is now in its 8th Volume, collecting more than 30 autobiographies. Each volume features autobiographies of anaesthesiologists worldwide who are invited to write their own stories with any focus on their own careers. Invited manuscripts are being reviewed and edited to conform to the unique style of the series by its Editors.

Apothecaries

  •  American College of Apothecaries (est. 1940);

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Local Societies

College of Physicians of Philadelphia

This College was founded in 1787 "to advance the Science of Medicine, and thereby lessen Human Misery, by investigating the diseases and remedies which are peculiar to our country" and to promote "order and uniformity in the practice of Physick." The College publishes Transactions & Studies of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia (1793; 1841-date). It also holds the papers of many local medical societies.

  • Arizona Medicine - Arizona State Medical Society (1944-85);[See also Arizona]
  • Medical Society for the District of Columbia (est. 1817) [See DC]
  • Connecticut State Medical Society est1792 [see Proceedings. Communications of the Medical Society of Connecticut 1810-]; [See Conneticut]
  • Fort Wayne Medical Society (est. 1953) see Bulletin;
  • Georgia Medical Association (1869-1972) see published Transactions; [see Georgia]
  • Philadelphia County Medical Society (est.1849 ); 
  • Pathological Society of Philadelphia 1857

New York

New York Academy of Medicine (1847-) see Fellows of the New York Academy of Medicine 1884-1889; Acts of incorporation, constitution and by-laws, list of fellows, associate fellows, honorary fellows and benefactors and current medical periodicals on file in the library of the New York Academy of Medicine. 1904; 1906. .

Medical Society of the County of Kings and the Academy of Medicine of Brooklyn (1933-1979) see Bulletin; 

Medical Association of Southern Central New York (1848-1861) see Transactions; Medical Society of New York  (est. 1794);

Medical Society of the State of New York (est1807) see Transactions; 

Physico-Medical Society of New York (est.1817) see Transactions;

Medical Society of Orange County New York c.1812-

Delaware

 Medical Society of Delaware (est. c.1900) see Transactions

Iowa

Iowa State Medical & Chirurgical Society  (est. c1850 see Transactions  and Vis medicatrix

California

Sacramental Society for Medical Improvement see Memories, men and medicine; a history of medicine in Sacramento, California, with biographies of the founders of the Sacramento Society for Medical Improvement and a few contemporaries. Illustrated with views of Sacramento and some important characters.1950

Louisiana

Louisiana State Medical Society (est. 1874)  see Transactions;

Tennessee

Tennessee Medical Society (est. c.1896);

New Jersey

Medical Society of New Jersey c.1804;

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Medical Schools

Many medical schools have active alumni organisations and  publish obituary information in newsletters and journals. There libraries may also hold the archives of the school and collect the papers of noteworthy physicians attached to the school.  

 
  

Alabama

Arizona

University of Arizona College of Medicine

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Arkansas

University of Arkansas College of Medicine

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North Carolina

South Carolina

  • Medical University of South Carolina College of Medicine
  • University of South Carolina School of Medicine
    Waring Historical Library has a rather extensive collection of biographical files primarily on South Carolina physicians. This collection includes newspaper articles that are published over the years on medical worthies, obituaries, etc. The Journal of the South Carolina Medical Association has memorial resolutions on deceased physicians and TheRecorder published by the Columbia, South Carolina Medical Society also includes memorial resolutions on deceased members of that group. In addition the Medical Society of South Carolina a local society of physicians has done memorial resolutions on physicians in Charleston, South Carolina since about 1789. The minutes of this Society from 1789 to 1956 are housed in the Waring Historical Library (so far no index, though). Contact Waring Historical Library for more information.

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California

See also California Medical Society Sources 

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Connecticut

  • University of Connecticut School of Medicine
  • Yale University School of Medicine
    Yale school of Medicine was founded in 1810 Yale Journal of  Biology & Medicine,  Yale Medicine, Association of Yale Alumni in Medicine Bulletin and "In Memoriam" pages for obituaries. A useful book is Thoms, Herbert. The doctors of Yale College, 1702-1815: and the founding of the Medical Institution. Hamden, CT: Shoestring Press, 1960. Proceedings of the Connecticut Medical Society

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District of Columbia

see College of Physicians Philadelphia collections

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North Dakota

University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences

South Dakota

University of South Dakota School of Medicine

Florida

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Georgia

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Hawaii

University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine

Illinois

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Indiana

Indiana University School of Medicine

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Iowa

University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine

See also Iowa Medical Societies

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Kansas

University of Kansas School of Medicine

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Kentucky

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Louisiana

See also Louisiana Medical Societies

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Maryland

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Massachusetts

 
The Countway library  also collects manuscripts and personal papers of physicians from the medieval and Renaissance periods through the twentieth century, including the professional papers of many renowned Harvard faculty members as well as physicians and scientists from New England and around the country, notably Walter Bradford Cannon, Jacob Bigelow, Clarence J. Gamble, Henry Pickering Bowditch, John Collins Warren, Stanley Cobb, James Jackson Putnam, and Benjamin Waterhouse.
 

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Michigan

See Searching for University of Michigan Biographical Information. The Center for Medical History at the University of Michigan Medical School has an oral history programme of prominent medical school alumni. http://www.med.umich.edu/medschool/chm/links.htm   

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Minnesota

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Mississippi

University of Mississippi School of Medicine

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Missouri

Nebraska

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Nevada

University of Nevada School of Medicine

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New Hampshire

Dartmouth Medical School

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New Jersey

See also New Jersey Medical Societies

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New Mexico

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New York

See also New York Medical Societies

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Ohio

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Oklahoma  

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Oregon  

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Pennsylvania

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Rhode Island

Brown Medical School  

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Tennessee

See also Tennessee Medical Societies

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Texas 

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Utah

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Vermont  

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Virginia 

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Washington

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  West Virginia 

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Wisconsin

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Any comments or additions to "Tracing Your Medical Ancestors" contact the Archivist   

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