The Athenæum Club, the Royal Society and the reform of dentistry in nineteenth-century Britain: A research report

Abstract

In 1978 M. J. Peterson examined the role played by the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) in nineteenth-century dental reform, noting the establishment of its Licence in Dental Surgery (LDS) in 1859. In a paper published in Notes and Records in 2010, the present author described the influential role played by Fellows of the Royal Society during the nineteenth-century campaign for dental reform led by Sir John Tomes. Key players in this campaign, including the dentists Samuel Cartwright, Thomas Bell and James Salter, were, as well as being Fellows of the Royal Society, members of the Athenæum Club. The present research report indicates the roles played by those members of the Athenæum Club who were also Fellows of the Royal Society in the scientific and professional reform of nineteenth-century dentistry. Although it does not attempt to document meetings at the Club, it suggests the potential for a symbiotic effect between the Royal Society and the Athenæum. Where the previous paper proposed an active scientific role for the Royal Society in reforming dentistry, this paper presents the Athenæum as a significant extension of the sphere of influence into the cultural realm for those who did enjoy membership of both organizations.