390 
Notes  and  News. 
(  Am.  Jour.  Pkarm 
\     August,  1913. 
NOTES  AND  NEWS. 
Historical  Medical  Museum  for  London. — The  ceremony  of 
opening  the  Historical  Medical  Museum  organized  by  Air.  Henry 
S.  Wellcome,  was  performed  on  June  24th  by  Dr.  Norman  Moore, 
President  of  the  Section  on  History  of  Medicine  of  the  forthcoming 
International  Medical  Congress,  and  the  new  Institution  received 
the  benediction  of  Sir  Thomas  Barlow,  President  of  the  London 
Royal  College  of  Physicians  and  of  the  International  Medical  Con- 
gress, Sir  Frederick  Treves,  Sir  Rickman  Godlee,  President  of  the 
London  Royal  College  of  Surgeons,  and  Sir  Francis  Champneys, 
President  of  the  Royal  Society  of  Medicine. 
The  idea  of  forming  a  museum  illustrating  the  history  of  the 
healing  art  was  first  conceived  and  organized  by  Mr.  Wellcome 
several  years  ago,  and  a  remarkable  collection  of  rare  and  curious 
objects  of  historical  interest  connected  with  medicine,  surgery  and 
the  allied  sciences  has  now  been  brought  together  from  all  parts  of 
the  world. 
Dr.  Norman  M'oore  in  the  course  of  his  opening  address  said 
the  museum  would  be  a  most  important  addition  to  the  studies  of 
the  International  Medical  Congress  and  would  deeply  interest  a 
great  many  of  the  7,000  medical  men  who  were  expected  to  attend. 
He  reviewed  the  formation  of  earlier  museums,  all  of  which  are 
relatively  recent  creations  and  usually  developments  from  libraries. 
The  museum  he  that  day  formally  declared  open  was  the  first  estab- 
lished in  England  to  illustrate  the  history  of  medicine  and  it  might 
justly  be  regarded  as  a  further  step  in  the  establishment  of  the 
subject  as  a  regular  study. 
In  responding  to  a  vote  of  thanks,  Mr.  Wellcome  expressed  his 
indebtedness  for  kind  services  and  assistance  given  by  Sir  William 
Osier  and  many  other  eminent  men  and  also  institutions  whose 
names  he  mentioned.  He  regarded  the  museum  as  at  its  very 
beginning  and  intended  the  present  collection  to  form  the  nucleus 
of  a  permanent  Historical  Medical  Museum  in  London. 
It  was  his  intention  to  found  in  London  a  Bureau  of  Scientific 
Research  and  to  appoint  as  Director-in-Chief  Dr.  Andrew  Balfour, 
who  for  nearly  twelve  years  had  rendered  such  fruitful  services  as 
Director  of  the  Wellcome  Tropical  Research  Laboratories  at  Khar- 
tomm  Sudan. 
