A brief history of the British Pharmacological Society

Abstract

The article traces the history of the BPS since its inception in 1931 until the present day. Details are given about the size and nature of the membership and how the governance of the Society has changed during the last 75 years. The emergence of the Clinical Section from within the main Society and the growth of the Society's publications are described.

Figure 1

The three founders of the British Pharmacological Society. Walter E. Dixon (1871–1931) FRS (a), J.A. Gunn (1882–1958) (b) and Sir Henry Hallett Dale (1875–1968) OM, FRS (c) (a, © The Royal Society; c, © Godfrey Argent).

Figure 2

Mary Pickford FRS (1902–2002; a) was elected in 1935, followed by Edith Bulbring FRS (1903–1990; b) in 1936 and Marthe Vogt FRS (1903–2003; c) in 1937 (a, b, c, © Godfrey Argent).

Figure 3

A.J. Clark (1885–1941) FRS (a) became a member of the governing body of the British Pharmacological Society in 1932, following the untimely death of W.E. Dixon, one of the original founding members. Sir John H. Gaddum (1900–1965) FRS (b) was the first chairman of the Editorial Board of the ‘British Journal of Pharmacology and Chemotherapy' (b, © Godfrey Argent).

Figure 4

Total numbers of pages published in the British Journal of Pharmacology since its inception until the present day, together with the number of journal issues each year. The numbers of pages do not include the abstracts of communications and poster presentations given at meetings of the Society.

Figure 5

Total numbers of pages published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology since its inception until the present. The numbers of pages do not include the abstracts of communications and poster presentations given at meetings of the Society or the symposia supplements published in the Journal.

Figure 6

Membership of the British Pharmacological Society (all classes) since its formation until the present day.