Happy Birthday @RCPhysicians - 507yrs old today! The charter founding of the RCP was granted by King Henry VIII in 1518. While it has an impressive seal, the document itself appears unfinished. Archive manager Pamela Forde considers the mystery in her blog 👉 history.rcp.ac.uk/blog/empty-t...

It's the #AutumnalEquinox today at 18.20 GMT! This 16th-century paper machine, called a volvelle, helps explain how the sun moves through the sky from equinox to solstice throughout the year. Find a full explainer video on our exhibition website: history.rcp.ac.uk/exhibitions/... #BodyofKnowledge

‘Making Visible’ is a new artwork by Catherine James to make visible the previously overlooked contributions of women to the RCP library. Find out more about one of those fascinating women - Lady Grace Pierrepont in a new blog 👉 history.rcp.ac.uk/exhibitions/... @rcphysicians.bsky.social #HistMed

Exhibition, ‘A body of knowledge’ is open! 10 Sept 2025 - 23 July 2026. history.rcp.ac.uk/exhibitions/... Discover the surprising treasures of the RCP Heritage Library & explore how 500 years of book-collecting have built a wondrous, enduring library. @rcphysicians.bsky.social #BodyofKnowledge

Join us to celebrate East & South East Asian (ESEA) Heritage Month! Bring your friends tomorrow 4 Sept from 5.30pm for a fun & thoughtful drop-in paper-based craft mixer, inspired by @rcphysicians.bsky.social ESEA archive collections & plants. Book 👉 royal-college-of-physicians.arttickets.org.uk

Some #behindthescenes action at the Royal College of Physicians Museum this summer! We are busy installing the new exhibition, inspecting & of course dusting! Coming soon: history.rcp.ac.uk/exhibitions/... #museumlife #histmed #BodyofKnowledge @rcphysicians.bsky.social

‘I am very excited by your eyeball!’ Things you hear in a #medicalmuseum😅 #histmed #museumlife

Join us for #OpenHouse2025! We will be open on Saturday 20 September 10am - 4pm. We invite you to drop in, take an expert tour, explore our archives and heritage library, get creative and more to discover the @rcphysicians.bsky.social London home. Book free👉 programme.openhouse.org.uk/listings/1527

What’s been happening #behindthescenes at the @rcphysicians.bsky.social this summer? well for one a lot of physicians' paintings are on the move while works are undertaken in the building. These chaps have been staring unnervingly at us while we work in the library . . .votes on your favourite wig?

Super event this evening with @rcpmuseum.bsky.social, @physiciansgallery.bsky.social and our own College here in Glasgow hearing all the amazing stories of medicine and migration from South Asia. Our three Colleges are working towards uncovering more of these histories. #SouthAsianHeritageMonth

Its #InternationalCatDay! As we are working on a new exhibition exploring 500 years of book collecting at the @rcphysicians.bsky.social we've discovered some excellent cats in our heritage library. Image by John Chase. [1/4]

The RCP Museum is delighted to announce the loan of two silver nipple shields to Hampshire Cultural Trust for 'Beyond the Bonnets - working women in Jane Austen's Novels', an exhibition marking the 250th anniversary of Austen's Birth. Discover more 👉 history.rcp.ac.uk/blog/beyond-...

Happy birthday John Ayrton Paris born #OTD 1785. A member, fellow, censor & president of the @rcphysicians.bsky.social in the 19th C. Interested in physic, geology, natural philosophy & chemistry, he was physician in London & Cornwall, & a very popular lecturer. 👉 history.rcp.ac.uk/inspiring-ph...

Get a taste of the @rcphysicians.bsky.social fascinating 500 year history in a FREE virtual taster tour this Wednesday 6 August at 1.30pm. Explore our award-winning building with an expert guide. Register now with Art Tickets 👉 royal-college-of-physicians.arttickets.org.uk @artfund.bsky.social

Last week we took down exhibition 'Healing words' & tucked our collection of recipe books safely back into the @rcphysicians.bsky.social archives. But fear not! You can still view every book, discover fascinating cures for baldness, how to make 'tryfel' & much more at: archive.org/details/rcpl...

Join us, @rcpmuseum.bsky.social ‬and @physiciansgallery.bsky.social on 12 Aug for a special #SouthAsianHeritageMonth event where we look at our ongoing work to uncover the stories of the first South Asian medics to migrate to the UK. Book for free: stories_of_medicine_and_migration.eventbrite.co.uk

The Museum will be closed from 12pm this Friday 25 July - reopening on 1 September 2025. While we are closed: 🌟join us for a virtual taster tour on 6 Aug 🌟discover stories of medicine and migration on 12 Aug 🌟explore our collections online through our catalogues, exhibitions & blogs

Happy Birthday, Robert Hooke born #OTD 1635! 1677 was a busy year for Hooke - he was simultaneously supervising the building of an anatomy theatre he'd designed for the RCP, & competing with Antoni Van Leeuwenhoek to see who could discover the most ‘exceedingly small animals’ through microscopes.

📣New exhibition alert!!!🤩 We are excited to announce our upcoming exhibition 'A body of knowledge', exploring 500 years of book collecting at the @rcphysicians.bsky.social, will open on 10 September 2025. history.rcp.ac.uk/exhibitions/... #BodyOfKnowledge #HistMed

📣Job alert📣 Part time Exhibitions Officer Are you enthusiastic about history, objects, & storytelling, with a commitment to creating inclusive, creative & meaningful experiences for museum audiences? Find out more & apply now 👉 rcp.current-vacancies.com/Jobs/Advert/... @rcphysicians.bsky.social

On 12 Aug join the @rcphysicians.bsky.social, @rcpsgheritage.bsky.social & @rcpedin.bsky.social heritage teams in a virtual discussion to share early research into records of South Asian doctors migrating to the UK since the 1840s. Book free👉 stories_of_medicine_and_migration.eventbrite.co.uk #SAHM

This #worldchocolateday create your own chocolate discs to a 17th century recipe! In 1687 Mary Goodson began her handwritten recipe book. One featuring instructions to create medicines, drinks & food. Last month Dr Amanda Herbert helped us recreate the flavours of Mrs Goodson’s chocolate.

What does creativity, resistance and renewal look like in nursing? Celebrate the launch of our new exhibition with this lively Art of Nursing chat: no slides, just big ideas from nurses, artists and activists. 🗓️ 16 July | 🕐 1–2pm | 💻 Online 🔗 Sign up: buff.ly/zQbNse7 #ArtOfNursing

Join us free tomorrow evening 3 July to discover the story behind the Healing words exhibition before it closes on 25 July! Including materials that couldn’t be displayed & 2 recipe newly books donated. Book now 👉 royal-college-of-physicians.arttickets.org.uk @rcphysicians.bsky.social

📣Only a few tickets left on our Teas from the Garden workshop - 16 July, 6pm! Book now to join the RCP Garden team for a delightful summer evening of tea tasting and blending featuring ingredients grown in the Medicinal Garden. You'll also take home your very own blend! 👉 tinyurl.com/43ydun9a

Today we celebrate 200 years since the @rcphysicians.bsky.social former headquarters, Pall Mall East, opened #OTD 25 June 1825. The opening ceremony was attended by 300 people, including 5 royal dukes, Prince Leopold, as well as politicians & other ‘noble’ or ‘learned’ people. 🧵1/4

Zahira Abdin was born this month in 1917. A paediatrician and rheumatic heart specialist she was the first Egyptian woman to become a member, and later a fellow, of @rcphysicians.bsky.social. #HistMed #WomenInMedicine #ThrowbackThursday 🧵1/4

Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, was born #OTD 1836 - the 1st English woman in Britain to qualify as a doctor. Denied admittance by @rcphysicians.bsky.social in 1864, she qualified through the Society of Apothecaries in 1865. We still hold the letter she sent to the RCP history.rcp.ac.uk/blog/some-ob...

This #WorldOceansDay we are sharing some fantastic sea creatures that swim through our heritage library books. Such as the Common Trout, Northern Char & Flying Fish in ‘The natural history of British fishes’, with illustrations drawn by James Hope Stewart, 1843. #OceansMW

Are you a British Sign Language (BSL) signer? Why not join a guided architecture tour of the @rcphysicians.bsky.social, 14 June at 11.30am with Martin Glover, trained architect & BSL signer. Watch for details: fb.watch/A2LYlvBiSs/ Book👉 history.rcp.ac.uk/event/britis... #LFA2025 #AccessibilityMW

Did you know that last year, volunteers contributed over 1,040 hours to support our work? Assisting at public events & caring for collections, they've enriched our services & preserved our heritage. Learn more👉 history.rcp.ac.uk/blog/celebra... Thank you! #VolunteersWeek @rcphysicians.bsky.social

This year the RCP Museum has been delighted to collaborate on several events with our fantastic @rcphysicians.bsky.social Garden team including: 🌿plant displays & #Garden tours 🍃fun & educational children’s activities 🥀 a new garden trail 🌷botanical art workshop with London Drawing #TogethernessMW

Go, go, go! Our member Professor Amanda Herbert will be discussing early modern recipe books. Did we mention there's chocolate? 🍫

Looking for something to do with the family? Why not drop by the RCP Museum to try out our family trail exploring exciting exhibition Healing words! #GameMW 🔍🤔🤩 Entry is FREE, find out more 👉 history.rcp.ac.uk/exhibitions/...

#OTD 1657 anatomist & physician, William Harvey died. He had lived through an extraordinary age of scientific revolution to which he contributed a significant & controversial discovery - that blood is pumped around the body by the heart in a state of ceaseless motion. #MovementMW #Motion [1/2]

Whose up for a fascinating evening with interesting lectures, drinks, chocolate tasting & hot chocolate making?! 🗓️18 June | 6pm-8.30pm | RCP Museum Book now with Art Tickets royal-college-of-physicians.arttickets.org.uk 50% off for Art Pass holders @artfund.bsky.social ! @rcphysicians.bsky.social

We found a lovely poem for #NationalGreyhoundDay! "On a Greyhound If you will have a good tike, Of which there are few like, Hee must bee headed like a snake, Neck like a Drake, Barkt like a beame, Syded like a breame, Tayled like a Ratt, And footed like a Catt." More info below 👇

🥳Happy birthday Ivy Woodward, born #OTD 1877. An award winning student of medicine, she was doctor at several hospitals including the Royal Free Hospital & Belgrave Hospital for Children. In 1909 she became the 1st woman member of the @rcphysicians.bsky.social. history.rcp.ac.uk/blog/searchi...

Thank you to everyone who joined us at yesterday's 'Plants & potions' workshop at the RCP. We were delighted to work with the fabulous RCP garden team & the @oldoptheatre.bsky.social to welcome a group of enthusiastic families for fun, games & crafts. #RCPhealingRecipes @rcphysicians.bsky.social

Happy 134th birthday to Dr. Helen Mackay FRCP (1891–1965), the first woman elected as a Fellow of the @rcphysicians.bsky.social (1934). A pioneering paediatrician, she revolutionised infant healthcare with her research on iron deficiency anaemia. #WomenInMedicine #LGBTQHistory #HistMed

Don't forget to sign up to our special Museum Late on 5 June for the London Festival of Architecture! Join a special guided tour, explore a unique archival display, & share your views on this Grade I listed building. Book 👉 history.rcp.ac.uk/event/london... #LFA2025

Our Plants and Potions children's workshop with the Old Operating Theatre on 28 May is now fully booked, however, they are running some other great half-term sessions for families to enjoy - including this meet the leeches experience! 👇

This #WorldBeeDay we’d like to share a couple of excellent bees from our heritage library. . . First this exquisite bee is an incidental detail on one of the plates in esteemed artist Maria Sibylla Merian's work on the insects of Suriname, published in 1719. 1/2

BA Creative Arts and Humanities students have produced original short films inspired by UCL Special Collections items. Join us for the premiere screening on 3 Jun and explore a special display of the rare books and archives that shaped their creative process. Book now on tinyurl.com/uclscfilm

Book now for our Healing words summer lectures on 18 June! 📖Culinary contribution & collaboration in early modern British recipe books - Dr Amanda Herbert 🌿Discover historic medicines in the RCP Garden - Dr Henry Oakeley 🍫Plus chocolate recipe tasting! 👉 history.rcp.ac.uk/event/healin... #Histmed

#OTD 1796 Edward Jenner first tested his process of vaccination - inoculating 8yr old James Phipps with cowpox with the aim of protecting him against contracting the far deadlier smallpox. Discover more through his papers in the RCP archive 👉 history.rcp.ac.uk/blog/edward-... #histmed

Have you booked yet? Plants & potions children's workshop this half-term at the RCP. Join us & @oldoptheatre.bsky.social on 28 May to: 🌿 Create your own pomander 👃play smelly bingo & explore the RCP Garden 🩺get hands on with medical history Book now tinyurl.com/yy39demm @rcphysicians.bsky.social

'Radioactive mud? Well, colour me intrigued...' In today's blog, rare books librarian Katie Birkwood explores the surprising history of radioactive mud being promoted as a treatment for medical conditions in the 1920s. Read now👉 history.rcp.ac.uk/blog/radioac... #histmed @rcphysicians.bsky.social

We are delighted to be taking part again in this year's London Festival of Architecture #LFA2025! Our events: ⭐️5 June - special Museum Late ⭐️14 June - British Sign Language tour Search for Royal College of Physicians to book: londonfestivalofarchitecture.org/programme/ @rcphysicians.bsky.social

Within the modern glass of two long stained-glass windows at the RCP are historic coats of arms of figures from the RCP's past. Senior Curator Elizabeth Douglas' latest blog investigates the disturbing legacy linked to one of these coats of arms👉 history.rcp.ac.uk/blog/legacy-... #HistMed