The president of the Royal Society of Medicine (RSM) is the head of the Royal Society of Medicine.
The presidents were elected biennially by the Fellows of the Society. In 2014 the charter changed. The presidents are now elected every three years.
The president oversees the running of the Society and chairs its council meetings.
List of presidents
1907-2000
| Years in office | Name | Notes | Image |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1907–1910 | Sir William Selby Church, 1st Baronet | First president of the RSM in 1907, Church had chaired the preceding two years of negotiations to form the RSM. | 
|
| 1910–1912 | Sir Henry Morris, 1st Baronet | 
| |
| 1912–1914 | Sir Francis Champneys | Obstetrician, elected president in 1912, and in the same year supported Sir William Osler in the founding of the History of Medicine Section. | 
|
| 1914–1916 | Sir Frederick Taylor, 1st Baronet | 
| |
| 1916–1918 | Sir Rickman Godlee | 
| |
| 1918–1920 | Sir Humphry Rolleston | 
| |
| 1920–1922 | Sir John Bland-Sutton | 
| |
| 1922–1924 | Sir William Hale-White | 
| |
| 1924–1926 | St Clair Thomson | 
| |
| 1926–1928 | Sir James Berry | ,_FRCS.jpg)
| |
| 1928–1930 | Bertrand Dawson, 1st Viscount Dawson of Penn | 
| |
| 1930–1932 | Thomas Watts-Eden | ||
| 1932–1934 | Vincent Warren Low | ||
| 1934–1936 | Sir Robert Hutchison, 1st Baronet | ||
| 1936–1938 | Sir John Herbert Parsons | ||
| 1938–1940 | Sir William Girling Ball | ||
| 1940–1942 | Sir Archibald Montague Henry Gray | Gray was a dermatologist who in 1913 became secretary to the dermatology section at the RSM. Between 1920 and 1924 he was the RSM's honorary secretary, and subsequently was appointed honorary treasurer. | |
| 1942–1944 | Sir Henry Letheby Tidy | ||
| 1944–1946 | Sir Gordon Gordon-Taylor | 
| |
| 1946–1948 | Sir Maurice Cassidy | ||
| 1948–1950 | Sir Henry Hallett Dale | 
| |
| 1950–1952 | Alfred Webb-Johnson, 1st Baron Webb-Johnson | ||
| 1952–1954 | Sir Francis Walshe | ||
| 1954–1956 | Sir William Gilliatt | ||
| 1956–1958 | Sir Clement Price Thomas | ||
| 1958–1960 | Sir Geoffrey Marshall | ||
| 1960–1962 | Edgar Adrian, 1st Baron Adrian | ||
| 1962–1964 | Sir Terence Cawthorne | ||
| 1964–1966 | Henry Cohen, 1st Baron Cohen of Birkenhead | .jpg)
| |
| 1966–1967 | Arthur Porritt, Baron Porritt | 
| |
| 1967–1969 | Sir Hector MacLennan | ||
| 1969–1971 | Sir John Samuel Richardson | ||
| 1971–1973 | Sir Hedley Atkins | ||
| 1973–1975 | Sir John Stallworthy | ||
| 1975–1977, 1978 | (acting) Sir Gordon Wolstenholme | ||
| 1977–1978 | Sir John Vivian Dacie | ||
| 1978–1980 | Sir Rodney Smith, Baron Smith | ||
| 1980–1982 | Sir John Stallworthy | ||
| 1982–1984 | Sir James Watt | ||
| 1984–1986 | John Walton, Baron Walton of Detchant | ||
| 1986–1988 | Sir Gordon Robson | ||
| 1988–1990 | Sir Christopher Booth | ||
| 1990–1992 | Sir David Innes Williams | ||
| 1992–1994 | Sir George Pinker | ||
| 1994–1996 | Sir Donald Harrison | ||
| 1996–1998 | Sir Christopher Paine | ||
| 1998–2000 | Lord Soulsby of Swaffham |
2000–2023
| Years in office | Name | Notes | Image |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000–2002 | Dame Deirdre Hine | ||
| 2002–2004 | Sir Barry Jackson | ||
| 2004–2006 | Sir John Lilleyman | ||
| 2006–2008 | Ilora Finlay, Baroness Finlay of Llandaff | 
| |
| 2008–2010 | Robin C. N. Williamson | ||
| 2010–2012 | Dame Parveen Kumar | .jpg)
| |
| 2012–2014 | Sir Michael Rawlins | 
| |
| 2014–2017 | Babulal Sethia | ||
| 2017–2020 | Sir Simon Wessely | 
| |
| 2020–2024 | Roger Kirby | 
| |
| 2024- | Gillian Leng | 4th female president and 109th overall. | .jpg)
|
References
- David, T J (February 2002). "The History of the Royal Society of Medicine". Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. 95 (2): 105–107. ISSN 0141-0768. PMC 1279326.
- ^ Hunting, Penelope (2002). "Appendix: Presidents of the Society 1805-2000". The History of The Royal Society of Medicine. Royal Society of Medicine Press. pp. 481–482. ISBN 1-85315-497-0.
- Hunting, P (2005). "The Royal Society of Medicine". Postgraduate Medical Journal. 81 (951): 45–48. doi:10.1136/pgmj.2003.018424. PMC 1743179. PMID 15640428.
- Hunting, Penelope (2002). "8. From anaesthetics to proctology". The History of The Royal Society of Medicine. Royal Society of Medicine Press. pp. 301–380. ISBN 978-1853154973.
- "Parsons, Sir John Herbert (1868 - 1957)". Royal College of Surgeons. Archived from the original on 30 June 2023. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
- ^ "Gray, Sir Archibald Montague Henry (1880 - 1967)". Livesonline. Royal College of Surgeons of England. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
- "A President in shirtsleeves". Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. 95 (10): 518–519. October 2002. doi:10.1177/014107680209501016. ISSN 0141-0768. PMC 1279186.
- Sanai, Leyla (2006). "Professor Sir John Lilleyman". Career Focus. British Medical Journal. 332 (7536): s50. doi:10.1136/bmj.332.7536.s50. S2CID 79850091.
- Finlay, Ilora (1 August 2009). "My working day: Ilora Finlay". Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. 102 (8): 349–351. doi:10.1258/jrsm.2009.09k041. ISSN 0141-0768. PMC 2726809.
- Parliamentary Debates (Hansard).: House of Commons official report. H.M. Stationery Office. 2012. p. 5.
- "Professor Sir Michael Rawlins GBE, Kt". GOV.UK. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
- Kelly, Brendan; Houston, Muiris (2020). "3. Writer: psychiatry in dissent (1976)". Psychiatrist in the Chair: The Official Biography of Anthony Clare. Merrion Press. p. 76. ISBN 978-1-78537-331-2.
- Kirby, Roger (April 2023). "Legends in Urology". The Canadian Journal of Urology. 30 (2): 11459–11461. PMID 37074742.
- ^ "Professor Gillian Leng CBE vows to "look to the future" as she becomes RSM President". www.rsm.ac.uk. 31 July 2024. Archived from the original on 26 July 2024. Retrieved 26 July 2024.