Society for the History of Medical Science, 1950-1978

Historical Note

The Society for the History of Medical Science was a duly registered University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) campus-affiliated group and a constituent society of the American Association of the History of Medicine. The Society was founded and governed mostly, but not entirely, by faculty members of the Los Angeles area's three medical schools of the time, namely the College of Medical Evangelists, the University of Southern California School of Medicine, and the University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine. The stated purpose of the group was to promote interest in, and the study of, medical history. Membership, by invitation, included medical faculty and students, practicing physicians, and others interested in the group's purpose. Eminent speakers appeared at two to four meetings a year, and to raise interest in the history of medicine among medical students, interns, and residents, the Society sponsored an essay contest with a medal and small cash prizes, named for Yale University neurophysiologist and historian of medicine John F. Fulton with his approval and support.