Nichola Harris
Yale University
Friday, September 20, 2024 5:00 pm EDT
Yale University
Fulton Room
333 Cedar Street
New Haven, CT 06510
Nichola Harris, PhD, Associate Professor of European History, SUNY Ulster
Lapidary Medicine: Mineral Pharmacology within the Medical Marketplace of Early Modern England
The Beaumont Medical Club was founded in 1920 by a group of Yale University School of Medicine physicians and faculty members including George Blumer, former dean, C.-E.A. Winslow, renowned microbiologist and public health practitioner, and M.C. Winternitz, well-know pathologist and dean of the medical school. Although the club’s first meeting was held on December 14, 1920, the club adopted its official name three months later after some discussion. The founders were interested in naming the club for a distinguished physician, choosing William Beaumont, a Connecticut native and an early pioneer in physiology in this country, as an appropriate honoree.
The club was organized to promote the study of the history of medicine and to celebrate the contributions of physicians and medical scientists in promoting the welfare of mankind. From its inception, the Beaumont Medical Club has met on six or seven Friday evenings during the academic year in the Yale Historical Library to hear presentations by members and invited speakers. The meetings have been preceded by an informal tea and have been followed by a sherry hour and dinner for members and invited guests in the Beaumont Room almost since the beginning of the club’s history.
Today, tea is served at 4:30 P.M. in the Beaumont Room on the second floor of the Sterling Hall of Medicine above the medical library; the presentation starts at 5 P.M. in the Fulton Room, L215; sherry and refreshments are served in the library immediately following the presentation; and dinner is served in the Beaumont Room from 6:30 P.M. to 8:00 P.M.