Past Events

SUMMARIES & BIOS SUMMARY (SA) The Royal Pharmaceutical Society became the Royal College of Pharmacy and a charity on 15 April 2026. Yet the title ‘College of Pharmacy’ was suggested in early discussions about what to call the new body to represent chemists and druggists; when founded in 1841 it was called ‘the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain’; whilst considered appropriate to its aspirations, the title ‘College’ was rejected as too presumptuous. Five years later the Society considered taking on the role of college or establishing one separately; a College of Pharmacy Practice was eventually founded in 1981, but this was wound up in 2013 following establishment of a Faculty of Pharmacy Practice. This talk traces the shifting relationship between the names and objectives of Britain’s national pharmacy body. BIO (SA) Stuart Anderson is a past president of BSHP and editor of the Society’s journal, Pharmaceutical Historian. and a former chair of the Society for the Social History of Medicine. He is an emeritus professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and has written extensively on the history of pharmacy. He was the editor of 'Making Medicines: A Brief History of Pharmacy and Pharmaceuticals' (2005), and recent books include 'Pharmacy and Professionalization in the British Empire' (2021) and 'Pharmacopoeias, Drug Regulation and Empires: Making Medicines Official in Britain’s Imperial World' (2024). He was president of the International Academy for the History of Pharmacy between 2009 and 2017, and is a Fellow of both the Royal Pharmaceutical Society and the Royal Historical Society.

SUMMARY & BIO There is a fascinating and often bizarre world of early 20th century pills, potions and powders made from radioactive materials. In this illustrated talk Lucy will explore how both uranium and radium were incorporated into pharmaceutical preparations from tonics to face creams in the UK, the US and France and explain how these radioactive substances were marketed to the masses as essential for health. The talk will conclude with a reflection on why uranium and radium fell out of favour, shedding light on the shifting attitudes toward safety, science, and regulation. BIO: Specialising in the late 19th and early 20th century Lucy Jane Santos is a freelance historian and consultant uncovering the hidden stories of how science and technology have transformed daily life, especially when it comes to innovations in beauty practices.

SUMMARY & BIO This talk explores the history of Turkish pharmacy as reflected in caricatures from the Ottoman era to the present. Caricatures have long served as both entertainment and a powerful means of social critique, offering unique insights into the evolution of pharmacy. Drawing from rare archival sources, including pharmacy journals, humour magazines, and museum collections, this presentation showcases over 40 caricatures illustrating key developments in pharmacy education, legislation, professional challenges, and public perception. By analysing these visual narratives, the talk sheds light on how pharmacists, medicines, and pharmaceutical practices have been portrayed over time. BIO: Halil Tekiner (b. 1983, Kayseri, Turkey) is a professor at Erciyes University School of Pharmacy, Turkey, and President of the International Society for the History of Pharmacy. Holding degrees from Ankara University, he has conducted research at institutions including Harvard Medical School and Philipps University Marburg. Tekiner has authored 14 books and over 250 papers. His research focuses on medical and pharmaceutical history, medical humanities, and medical eponyms. Also a musician and composer, his works appear in various anthologies.

SUMMARY & BIO Sassafras is a plant that has been used by the indigenous peoples of the Americas for thousands of years, for medicinal and culinary purposes. It became a hugely popular export to Europe during the 17th and early 18th centuries. This lecture will describe its use, exploitation as a result of colonialism, and “fall from grace”, touching on continued use in some populations and the inherent dangers of inappropriate ingestion.​ BIO: Dr Kim Jacobson MBChB, MSc, MRCP, FRCPath, DHMSA, is a retired physician who trained in Ninewells Hospital Dundee, Addenbrooke’s Hospital Cambridge and Harvard Medical School Boston, USA. She specialised in Infection and Medical Microbiology and was a Consultant for 23 years in the South-West of England and was Clinical Lead for infection diagnostics in Bristol, Bath and the surrounding areas for 14 years, including throughout the COVID pandemic. In addition to her clinical practice, she was Head of School of Pathology for Health Education England (SW) and honorary Senior Lecturer at Bristol University Medical School. After taking early retirement, she is exploring her interest the history of medicine which led her to taking the Diploma in Medical History at the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries in 2024. She received the Osler medal given to the candidate who delivered the best lecture of the year.

SUMMARY & BIO This talk will explore the global influence of Tottenham-based, pharmaceutical manufacturer Howard on the development of quinine as an antimalarial. I will discuss the methods he used to gain knowledge of the cinchona tree without visiting it in the Andes: collecting trade bark samples, laboratory analysis and growing trees in his garden. He produced beautiful full-colour books and became the go-to-expert, even for botanists at Kew gardens and cultivators in British-Indian plantations. BIO: Kim does many things with plants. She is an author, researcher, consultant, and foraging teacher of over 15 years experience. Initially trained in medical herbalism, a fascination with nature, history and books led her into bio-cultural history at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, where she completed her PhD in 2023.

SUMMARY & BIO My talk will focus on plants mentioned in the Qur’ān and other religious texts such as the Bible and Hadīth that have medicinal value and have been used since ancient times to cure medical and other health conditions. I will also talk about the cultural beliefs that people have about these plants in their curative powers. BIO: I have worked and researched on plants in Pakistan, West Africa, Fiji, and the Middle East, mainly with a focus on national and regional floras. For the Middle East my expertise is on the vegetation, biogeography, restoration and conservation and plants of medicinal, historical and economic importance. Currently I am working on the medicinal plants of the Middle East. I have a PhD from the University of Cambridge, UK and have recently been awarded an ScD from that University in 2023; I am also Fellow of the Linnean Society of London, and was awarded the Linnean Medal for Botany (2021).

SUMMARY & BIO Professor Gomez’s work focuses on the history of knowledge, science, and the history of health and corporeality in Latin America, the Caribbean, the African diaspora and, more generally, the Iberian and Black Atlantic Worlds. His books include multiple-award winning The Experiential Caribbean: Creating Knowledge and Healing in the Early Modern Atlantic. His latest publication is an edited volume, The Gray Zones of Medicine, which examines the role of unlicensed health practitioners in the shaping of Latin American history.

SUMMARY The first official Indian Pharmacopeia was published in 1955, a few years after independence from British rule. This was the culmination of a long campaign over sixty-odd years by Indian physicians, and practitioners of Ayurveda and Unani who were also joined by significant numbers of Indian nationalists and British medical officials. Several unofficial and semi-official materia medica and similar compilations on Indian drugs circulated in medical and official circles, but these were not standard, official pharmacopeia. Indeed, there was no official pharmacopeia in British India. The British Pharmacopeia served as an unofficial guide, but the drugs circulating in the medical market comprised a medley of potions, pills, and tinctures that were eclectic in composition and origins. The attempt to standardize a selection of Indian drugs in everyday use by physicians and chemists and druggists, therefore, appeared to be an urgent necessity, and was endorsed by British officials and the medical establishment. Hundreds of drugs from the bazaars were procured and tested in laboratories to identify their active principles and standardize their potency and dosage. Several reports, official and unofficial were produced on the efficacy and characteristics of long lists of indigenous drugs in use from all parts of the subcontinent. Yet, a consensus on the Indian Pharmacopeia did not emerge in colonial India. This paper will examine why the Indian Pharmacopeia failed to materialize, although the subcontinent produced a vast number of raw drugs.

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