The Aesculapian Club of Edinburgh
Formation1773 (1773)
FounderDr Andrew Duncan, and others
TypeMedical dining club
PurposeTo encourage convivial relations between Fellows of the two medical Royal Colleges in Edinburgh
Location
Original Minute Book of the Aesculapian Club
Extract from minutes of an early meeting of the Aesculapian Club

The Aesculapian Club of Edinburgh is one of the oldest medical dining clubs in the world. It was founded in April 1773 by Dr. Andrew Duncan.[1][2][3] Membership of the club is limited to 11 Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh and 11 Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. 'Extraordinary Membership' is given to members aged over 70 years. The club was established during the Scottish Enlightenment to encourage convivial relations between Fellows of the two Colleges and to stimulate intellectual discussion. The Club dinners are held in the New Library of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh on the 2nd Friday of March and October each year.[4] The principal guest at each dinner is invited to give a short talk on a non-medical subject and this is followed by a round-table discussion.[4][5]

Founding members

There were 10 founding members of the Club who attended the first dinner on 2 April 1773.[4] The minutes of that meeting record that 'The Aesculapian Club was conceived in a happy moment, and in due time brought forth. Doctors Duncan and Hamilton, Messrs Hay, Bell, McLure, and Dewar assisted at the birth on the first Friday of April 1773. They also stood as godfathers at the christening. The usual rites and ceremonies usual on these occasions, such as eating a good supper, etc., were concluded with a bumper recommendatory of the club to the peculiar care of Apollo, of Bacchus, and of Venus, Floreat Res Medica. Vivat Veritas.' The club was named after Asclepius, the Greek God of medicine, more usually known by the Roman name, Aesculapius. Aesculapius was the son of Apollo, who was himself both the God of physic and the sender of disease.[6] The badge of the Club consists of the Latin motto 'Floreat Res Medica' (Let the medical field flourish) and a cockerel. Cockerels adorn many of the fixtures and fittings of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.[7] In Greek mythology cockerels were dedicated to Apollo (because their crowing gave notice of the rising sun) and to Aesculapius (because their example of 'early to bed and early to rise' was associated with good health).[8]

List of Founder Members[1][3][4]
NumberNameYear of ElectionYear of Resignation/Death
1Dr. Andrew Duncan 'The Elder'1773Died 1828
2Mr. William Chalmer1773Died 1784
3Mr. Andrew Wood1773Resigned 1803
4Dr. James Lind1773Resigned 1774
5Dr. James Hamilton "Senior"1773Resigned 1798
6Mr. Benjamin Bell1773Resigned 1798
7Mr. Thomas Hay1773Resigned 1803-11
8Mr. Forrest Dewar1773Resigned 1803-11
9Mr. Hamilton McLure1773Died 1789
10Mr. Colin Lauder1773Resigned 1792

Many of these individuals were founder members of the Harveian Society of Edinburgh, which was established in 1782 and still meets on an annual basis.

Former members and previous meetings

There have been 310 past and present members of the Aesculapian Club. Notable former Aesculpians include James Lind, Daniel Rutherford, Thomas Hope, James Syme, Sir James Young Simpson, Lord Joseph Lister, Joseph Bell, Douglas Argyll Robertson, Sir Thomas Clouston, Daniel Cunningham, James Haig Ferguson, Sir James Learmonth and Sir Stanley Davidson.[4]

A photograph or picture of Aesculapians from 1821 to the present day is preserved in a 2-volume album. The first volume, which extends to 1939, is kept with other historic papers of the club (including the minutes of previous meetings) in the library of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. The Club owns a considerable number of silver cups or pocula and other table adornments. These include six silver cups with circular rows of hooks, on each of which is hung a medallion with the engraved name, date of election and crest of a former Aesculapian. Three of these cups were presented by the Gymnastic Club (also founded by Dr. Andrew Duncan) on its dissolution in 1836.[3] One of the cups, which contains 9 medallions from 1788 to 1792, is on display in the National Museums of Scotland.[5]

The Aesculapian Club was originally a supper club and met on the first Friday of every month in local taverns. In 1810, it was converted into a dinner club, with quarterly meetings in March, June, September and December in Edinburgh hotels. In 1924, the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh granted permission for the dinners to be held in the New Library.[9] Although the frequency of dinners has been reduced over the years, the club has met almost continually since its inception. The only times when the Club did not meet were between March 1915 to December 1919 (due to the First World War), October 1939 to December 1945 (due to the Second World War)[5] and March 2020 to October 2021 (due to the COVID pandemic).[4] Several toasts are given throughout the dinner with the final one being "Floreat res medica"; this is a traditional toast, attributed to Andrew Duncan, which is given at the end of many medical dinners in Edinburgh.

Current members and extraordinary members

List of current members and extraordinary members[4]
NumberNamesYear of ElectionMembership Status
264Professor Sir David C Carter1987Extraordinary
268Professor Sir Christopher RW Edwards1992Extraordinary
270Mr. Iain Macintyre1992Extraordinary
273Dr. David Thomson1994Extraordinary
274Dr. Andrew A. Calder MBE1996Extraordinary
275Professor John Hunter OBE1997Extraordinary
276Mr. Simon Paterson-Brown1998Surgeon
278Dr. Niall Finlayson CBE2001Extraordinary
280Professor Stuart MacPherson2003Extraordinary
281Professor Ian Campbell2004-2008Extraordinary
282Dr. Nicholas Boon2004-2008Extraordinary
283Professor O James Garden CBE2004-2008Extraordinary
284Professor Sir John Savill2004-2008Extraordinary
285Professor Robert Steele CBE2008Extraordinary
286Dr. Kelvin 'Kel' Palmer2008-2010Extraordinary
287Professor Brian Williams2008-2010Extraordinary
288Professor Robert Jeffrey2008-2010Surgeon
289Dr. Alastair MacGilchrist2010Physician
290Professor Allan Cumming2012Extraordinary
291Mr. James 'Sam' Patton2012Surgeon
292Professor Michael Griffin OBE2012Surgeon
293Professor James Hutchison2012Surgeon
294Professor John Iredale2013Physician
295Mr. Murat Akyol2014Surgeon
296Professor Mark WJ Strachan2014Physician
297Dr. Andrew Flapan2014Physician
298Professor Stephen Wigmore2014Surgeon
299Professor Ian Finlay CBE2015Extraordinary
300Dr. Ian Penman2015Physician
301Professor Colin Howie2015Extraordinary
302Professor Andrew Morris CBE2015Physician
303Professor John McKnight2016Physician
304Professor Sir Lewis Ritchie OBE2018Extraordinary
305Dr. Caroline Whitworth2020Physician
306Professor Stephen Lawrie2022Physician (Psychiatrist)
307Professor Angela Eleine Thomas OBE2022Physician (Haematologist)
308Mr. John Casey2022Surgeon
309Ms. Rachel Guest2022Surgeon
310Dr. Elaine Henry2023Physician

Honorary Secretary

The Secretary of the Aesculapian Club acts also as the Treasurer and is responsible for the management of all affairs of the club. The Secretary is appointed ad vitam aut culpam.[3] There have been 16 secretaries of the club: Dr. Andrew Duncan (1773-1827); Dr. Richard Huie (1827-1842); Dr. Robert Omond (1842-1877); Dr. Daniel Rutherford Haldane (1877-1887); Dr. John Smith Jr. (1887-1905); Dr. Charles Edward Underhill (1905-1908); Sir George Andreas Berry (1908-1924); Dr. William Fordyce (1924-1933); Dr. William James Stuart (1933-1949); Lt-Col Alexander Dron Stewart (1949–55); Professor Robert William Johnstone (1955-1958); Dr. Clifford Kennedy (1958-1978); Iain MacLaren 1978–2004; Dr. Anthony 'Tony' Douglas Toft (2004-2014); Dr. Kelvin 'Kel' Palmer (2014-2022); Professor Mark William John Strachan (2022–present). A badge for the Secretary was designed by Sir Andrew Douglas Maclagan in 1857. The badge consists of a silver medal bearing the name of the club with a series of silver bars on the ribbon, each inscribed with the name of a Secretary and their years of office.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 Guthrie, Douglas. The Aesculapian Club of Edinburgh. University of Edinburgh.
  2. Smith, John (1888). Records of the Aesculapian. Frank Murray.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Stuart, William J. History of the Aesculapian Club of Edinburgh. Library of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh: Darien Press Ltd, Edinburgh.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Minute Books of the Aesculapian Club. Library of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.
  5. 1 2 3 Chalmers, John (2010). Andrew Duncan Senior; Physician of the Enlightenment. Edinburgh: National Museums Scotland. pp. 115–121. ISBN 978-1-905267309.
  6. Stanton, Judith Anne (February 1999). "Aesculapius: A Modern Tale". JAMA. 281 (5): 476–477. doi:10.1001/jama.281.5.476-JMS0203-4-1. PMID 9952212.
  7. Emslie Smith, D (March 2008). "Is the College an Aesklepieion?" (PDF). J R Coll Physicians Edinb. 38: 78–84.
  8. Dunlop, JM (1993). "Apollo and the College cocks". Proc R Coll Physicians Edinb. 23: 68–72.
  9. Jenkinson, Jacqueline (1993). Scottish Medical Societies 1731-1939. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. p. 122. ISBN 0748603905.
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