Abstract
Biography affects us all. People interest us, so much so that there is a danger of intrusion too deeply within the lives of our subjects. Sometimes writing about those who went before us needs to be put into context with those who remain. In general this journal has not included details of the living. But what of the descendants and other relatives of our subjects? When possible we have included their views on papers we have published but not invariably because not all can be consulted. We hope we have got it about right and we thank those who have provided information and images of their families.
Images help create a scene and the many pictures that illustrated the contents of the journal have set the scenes in a wider context. The inclusion of images on the front cover, at first one large image and then four and in the themed issue of August 2012 nine images, leads to a more creative display. The rotation of colours for the four issues in each year's volume creates a similar visual display on the bookshelves as was created previously by a school magazine, The Beaumont Review, where the school colours are repeated on the covers volume by volume. The gold cover for the August 2012 issue seemed fitting at the time of the Olympics in London. The journal has larger pages now too and the page margins are smaller, thereby making it possible to include more text per page. It is not always possible to eliminate all white space at the end of each paper but the inclusion of smaller contributions including Glimpses allows shorter contributions to be included, and therefore more of them, and the Notes and Jottings section allows for really short items and for occasional ideas for topics for budding authors. Fillers include quotes that might inspire! A particular joy has been the increasing submissions by younger writers, including medical students, and the Young Writer's Prize has sought to recognise this. The Archives that are building up with the Retired Fellows Society of the Royal Society of Medicine will provide another source of inspiration and a record of many high achievements.
One of the many joys of an editor is his correspondence with so many interesting persons. The ability to commission an Editorial is a particularly pleasurable task. This leads to topics of varied appeal, not necessarily related to the contents of the particular quarterly issue, and it increases the scope of topics covered. The journal was started in order to publish details of the lives of those whose lives otherwise might be unrecorded although the first issue contained information about several famous persons. Subsequent papers have comprised a mixture of the famous and the not so famous, sometimes the infamous, and despite the adjective medical in the title this has been interpreted widely as demonstrated by the categories by which papers are classified. Thus not only physicians, surgeons and other specialists are noted but also those whose work and life certainly are of no less interest to healthcare professionals, nurses, patients and so many others.
The supplement on William Osler provided an opportunity to increase the scope of the journal and to develop a theme. The August 2012 issue and this November issue have developed the theme of Human Endeavour, based initially on the idea that the Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games in London would lead to much discussion of the role of medicine in sport. These themed issues place a further burden on the publishing schedule when so many good papers are queuing for publication. Whether to reject so many good contributions in order that the time to publication is shortened, or whether to allow a higher acceptance rate with a correspondingly longer time to publication, creates a dilemma, not always easy to resolve. Many medical history papers including biography are not locked so firmly in time that their originality is prejudiced by some delay in publication even though understandably this leads to frustration and sometimes dismay for the authors. Those papers that are published in electronic form, on the internet, still require peer review, adjustment, agreement with the author, typesetting and all the decision-making that takes place along the pathway to publication. The possibility of payment for publication, so-called ‘vanity publishing’, has been considered because it could increase the volume of material published but it has been rejected on the basis that in relation to this journal it risks distorting the peer-review process.
Medical biography is a component of medical history. The aims of the study of medical history appear to be three in particular – it helps us to identify from the past those changes and failures that could lead us to a better future, it is an academic discipline, and it should be fun. The journal aims to fulfil all three roles for its readers and its authors, and constructive suggestions are always welcome and indeed essential. Medical history meetings abound but courses are less easily found. However, the Diploma in the History of Medicine of the Society of Apothecaries (DHMSA) is a qualification that can result from the course of study held on Saturdays in London over a period of several months; details are available by telephone at +44 20 7236 1189 and by e-mail at
Thus The Journal of Medical Biography, thought to be the only such journal in the world, is completing its twentieth year of publication and this November 2012 issue is its fortieth. Dr John Moll was Founder Editor and with members of the Boards he brought the journal to the end of its tenth year and now after a further ten years it is time for the journal's third editor to take over. Several members of the Editorial Board and of the Editorial Advisory Board have continued throughout this long time but sadly we have had to say goodbye to others who contributed no less valuably to the journal; for one reason or another they needed to move on. It is a sadness in this context to record the death of Sir Christopher Booth on 13 July 2012, a long-standing member of the Editorial Advisory Board and a source of much wisdom. To each and every one of these persons, and to the many others who have reviewed papers and offered invaluable advice, we owe a great debt of thanks for lots of hard work and support. To these names should undoubtedly be added with at least equal debt those many members of the production team, past and present, at the Royal Society of Medicine; because they are many and as always it would be invidious to name only some, it should be left to each to know the enormous extent to which their contributions have been valued, by this editor in particular.