Short noteJoseph Toynbee – QMC President-elect

摘要

The early history of the Club was summarised by M C Cooke in 1899 [1], and need not be revisited at any length here, but a few points might be noted. The Microscopical Society of London (which became the Royal Microscopical Society in 1866) catered very adequately for professional, qualified, members in the main. However, there were also many amateurs of the instrument in London by the 1860s, perhaps overawed by the MSL. And so, in 1865, stimulated by a letter in Science Gossip from a Mr W Gibson [2], a provisional committee, chaired by M C Cooke, considered the formation of a microscopical club, and in due course the Club was established with Dr Edwin Lankester as its first elected President for 1865-66. His election was important for two special reasons - he was already an eminent figure in microscopical circles (thus conferring prestige on the new club), and he was already a member of the MSL (thus allaying any fears on their part of a breakaway, rival, group being set up).