British Pharmacological Society

The collection comprises organisational and administrative records (this covers a wide range of committee minutes some of which include the founding documents of the society), minutes and information on the two journals: The British Journal of Pharmacology and The British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, publications, correspondence, information on the various prizes and awards the society gives out and some photographs of society members.

Arranged in Sections A-G as follows:

A: Administrative and Organisational Records, 1931-2006

B: Journals, 1945-2008

C: Conferences and Events, 1986-2007

D: Education and Awards, 1978-2007

E: Correspondence, 1964-2006

F: Publications, 1933-2005

G: Photographs and Audio-Visual Material, 1914-2000

The British Pharmacological Society (BPS) was founded in 1931 by Sir Henry Dale, Dr W. E. Dixon and Professor J. A. Gunn. They sent out a letter to about thirty people who were in charge of departments that taught pharmacology at universities saying; It has been thought for some time that it would possibly be of advantage to the subject of Pharmacology if some kind of annual meeting of British pharmacologist could be arranged, where papers on pharmacological subjects could be read and discussed, and question of teaching and publication might from time to time might be considered. Twenty-four people replied saying they could attend, and the first meeting was held in July at Wadham College, Oxford where five papers were discussed and there was one demonstration. The following year the second meeting was held in London and the rules of the society were drawn up and these remained largely unchanged until 1958. Following this the society met annually, alternating between Oxford, London, Cambridge, and Edinburgh. Several notable scientists became members or were part of the committee during this period: Wilhelm Feldberg, Sir Edward Mellanby (PP/MEL) and the first women members: Mary Pickford in 1933 and Edith Bulbring (PP/BUL) and Dr Marthe Vogt in 1937 (PP/MLV).

There were no meetings held during the Second World War, so the society did not meet after their last meeting in 1939 until late in 1945, when two yearly meetings started. The following year the society set up its first journal The British Journal of Pharmacology and Chemotherapy, and in 1968 the word chemotherapy was dropped from the title. The society from this point grew quickly; in 1947 there were forty-seven members and nearly 25 years later in 1971 this number had grown to eight hundred. This was down the activities of the group increased particularly with the introduction of four scientific meetings a year from 1968, overseas membership, and the formation of the separate Clinical Pharmacology section in 1970, who four years later set up their own journal: The British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology.

During the 1970s the society introduced several prizes: Sandoz (later renamed Novartis) for younger members, the SmithKline Beecham Prize, Lilley Prize, BrAPP prize in the clinical section and the Wellcome Gold Medal Award in 1979 to recognise outstanding achievements by a pharmacologist. Many more prizes and awards have since been introduced and these are given to a wide range of people from young scientists just starting out in the field of pharmacology as well as recognising well established research projects from older members.

Today the BPS has 3000 members from more than sixty countries and covers the promotion and research of: laboratory, clinical, and toxicological aspects of pharmacology and supports members who work in academia, industry and the health service. The society became a registered charity in 1993, no: 1030623. The activities of the society are run by the Council which focuses on the long term strategy and the Executive Committee that works on managing the society's present activities, and both are governed by a group of Trustees who meet twice a year. The society also currently employs ten full time staff who organise the various meetings, events and day to day running of the group throughout the year at their offices in Angel Gate. For more information on the BPS please visit their website and for a more detailed account of the society's history you can download a copy written by W. F. Bynum in 1981, or look at the hard copy edition in the archive in SA/BPS/F/6.

In the Wellcome Library:

The Library holds personal papers of several important BPS members (material originally received with the BPS archive). The collections concerned are the papers of Professor J.H. Burn (GC/154), Professor W.E. Dixon (GC/155), Dr G.N. Myers (GC/156), and Sir John Vane (PP/JRV). Other collections include the papers of Sir John Gaddum (GC/213) who was chairman of the Editorial Board of the British Journal of Pharmacology (1957-1964), Edith Bulbring (PP/BUL) and Dr Marthe Vogt (PP/MLV) who were some of the earliest women members of the society.