The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow was founded in 1599, by the granting of a Royal Charter from King James VI to our founder, Maister Peter Lowe, a Scottish surgeon. Our founding members set out to regulate and improve the standards of medicine, surgery and pharmacy in Glasgow and the West of Scotland. Today, the College has over 13,000 members internationally, and continues its mission to improve patient care around the world through education, training, and examination.
The College’s heritage collections – including thousands of medical and surgical instruments, rare books, archives, and pictures – span over 6 centuries and are an excellent resource for exploring the history of medicine and the history of the city of Glasgow. Many items from the collections have been digitised and are available to view here. Our digitisation work is ongoing, and we add new items to the site regularly, so keep checking back to discover more.