International Medical Congress

The International Medical Congress (French: Congrès International de Médecine) was a series of international scientific conferences on medicine that took place, periodically, from 1867 until 1913.

Composite group portrait of members of the International Medical Congress, 1881

The idea of such a congress came in 1865, during the third annual Medical Congress of France; Professor Henri Giutrac proposed holding an international medical conference in 1867, taking advantage of the fact that physicians and surgeons from all over the world would surely be in Paris to attend that year's International Exhibition. The first congress was a great success; it enjoyed the patronage of the French Government, having been officially attended by Victor Duruy, Minister of Public Instruction, and had several honorary members selected from foreign diplomatic bodies and learned societies.[1][2]

Congresses
Number Year Location Notes
1st1867Paris, France
2nd1869Florence, Italy
3rd1873Vienna, Austria
4th1875Brussels, Belgium
5th1877Geneva, Switzerland
6th1879Amsterdam, The Netherlands
7th1881London, United KingdomThe President of this Congress was Sir James Paget and the honorary secretary was William MacCormac. There were 3210 delegates.[3]
8th1884Copenhagen, DenmarkThe President of this Congress was Prof Peter Ludvig Panum.[4] A nomenclature sounds on Auscultation was agreed in English, German and French.[5]
9th1887Washington, D.C., United StatesSecretary-General and, later, President: Nathan Smith Davis
10th1890Berlin, GermanyHeld from 4th to the 9th of August, 1890[6]
11th1894Rome, ItalyHeld from 24 September to 1 October at a cost of 25 lire (£1).[7]
12th1897Moscow, RussiaHeld 19 -26 of August 1897. Transport from London to Moscow via Berlin and Warsaw and a return journey via St Petersburg Helsingfors, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Hamburg, and Flushing was arranged with Thomas Cook and Son for 45 guineas per person.[8] There is a copy of the conference proceedings in French held by the Wellcome Trust. Which can be accessed here https://wellcomecollection.org/works/mehvfxh9[9]
13th1900Paris, France
14th1903Madrid, SpainHeld from 23 to 30 of April 1903.[10]

There was much in the British Medical press about routes to get to the Congress including a detailed explanation in The Lancet of both overland and sea routes.[11] The Royal Mail Steam Packet Company offered doctors in Britain a 25% discount on the cost of the fare from Southampton to Lisbon.[12] The South Eastern and Chatham Railway and the railway service in France also issued reduce price tickets for members wishing to attend the Congress.[13]

The Great Britain and Ireland Committee convened a meeting on 13 July 1903 with Frederick William Pavy as chair. They reported that 150 people attended from Britain and Ireland. The Great Britain and Ireland Committee were unhappy with the radical changes to the Constitution of the congress specifically article 2 "congress shall be composed of Medical Men, Pharmacists, veterinarian and other persons practicing one of the different branches of medical science.... and that anyone who holds a professional or scientific title shall be admitted to take part in the Congress on the same terms as medical men". The opinion of the Great Britain and Ireland Committee was that this made the Congress unwieldy due to the number of people.[14]

15th1906Lisbon, PortugalPresident: Manuel da Costa Alemão; Secretary-General: Miguel Bombarda
16th1909Budapest, HungaryHeld from 29 August to 4 September.[15]
17th1913London, United KingdomOpened on 6 -12th 1913 by Prince Arthur of Connaught and was held at Royal Albert Hall. Sir Thomas Barlow was the president of this Congress. The Congress was notable for its strong support of Vivisection, calling for the introduction of Notifiable disease systems, calling for systematic diagnosis and treatment of Syphilis and acknowledging the role of diet in Beriberi .[16] All delegates were given a golden medal, the obverse of which showed Joseph Lister who had died the year before.[17]

Proposed Congress

The 18th Congress was due to be held in Munich in 1917, as unanimously agreed by the permanent commission of the International Congress at the 17th Congress in 1913. The Bavarian government and the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich offered to host it.[16] In 1914, however, World War I began and the 18th Congress was cancelled.

References
  1. Quinlan, F. J. B. (December 1884). "A Retrospect of the International Medical Congress of 1884". The Dublin Journal of Medical Science. 78 (7): 499–506. doi:10.1007/bf02975762. S2CID 74855932. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  2. "International Medical Congress, Eighth Session, held in Copenhagen, August 1884: The History of International Medical Congresses". The British Medical Journal. 2 (1238): 561–571. 20 September 1884. doi:10.1007/bf02975762. JSTOR 25270133. S2CID 74855932. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  3. "The International Medical Congress". Journal of Mental Science. 27 (119): 403–405. October 1881. doi:10.1192/bjp.27.119.403. ISSN 0368-315X.
  4. "Peter Ludvig Panum (1820-1885) Danish Epidemiologist and Physiologist". JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association. 201 (3): 196–197. 1967-07-17. doi:10.1001/jama.1967.03130030066019. ISSN 0098-7484.
  5. "The International Medical Congress at Copenhagen". The Lancet. 124 (3183): 382–384. August 1884. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(02)27151-2. ISSN 0140-6736.
  6. "International Medical Congress, Berlin, 1890". JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association. XIV (6): 188–196. 1890-02-08. doi:10.1001/jama.1890.02410060034013. ISSN 0098-7484. PMC 5927906. PMID 30435298.
  7. "Medical News". Edinburgh Medical Journal. 39 (2): 189. 1893. PMC 5285837.
  8. Blomfield, ArthurG. (April 1897). "The International Congress of Medicine, Moscow, 1897: A Good Arrangement". The Lancet. 149 (3842): 1116. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(01)94774-9. ISSN 0140-6736.
  9. "Comptes-rendus du XII Congrès international de médecine : Moscou, 7 (19)-14 (26) août 1897 / pub. par le Comité exécutif sous la rédaction du secrétaire général W. Roth". Wellcome Collection. Retrieved 2022-06-26.
  10. "The Fourteenth International Congress Of Medicine, Madrid, 1903". The British Medical Journal. 2 (2119): 366. 1901. ISSN 0007-1447. JSTOR 20269213.
  11. "The Fourteenth International Congress of Medicine, Madrid". The Lancet. 161 (4152): 923–924. March 1903. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(01)84810-8. ISSN 0140-6736.
  12. Woodley Stocker, W.; Davies, C.E. (March 1903). "The Fourteenth International Congress of Medicine, Madrid". The Lancet. 161 (4151): 838. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(01)72286-6. ISSN 0140-6736.
  13. "The Fourteenth International Congress of Medicine, Madrid, April, 1903". The Lancet. 160 (4137): 1642. December 1902. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(01)41996-9. ISSN 0140-6736.
  14. "The Fourteenth International Congress of Medicine, Madrid, 1903". The Lancet. 162 (4169): 249–250. July 1903. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(01)50658-3. ISSN 0140-6736.
  15. "THE SIXTEENTH INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF MEDICINE. BUDAPEST, AUGUST 29th TO SEPTEMBER 4th: Section of Medicine". BMJ. 2 (2545): 1076–1077. 1909-10-09. doi:10.1136/bmj.2.2545.1076. ISSN 0959-8138. S2CID 220221053.
  16. SALEEBY, C. W. (August 1913). "The International Medical Congress". Nature. 91 (2285): 608–610. doi:10.1038/091608a0. ISSN 0028-0836.
  17. "1913 International Medical Congress Medal | The British Association of Urological Surgeons Limited". www.baus.org.uk. Retrieved 2022-06-24.
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