An exhibition at the Bodleian Library,
22 November 2013 - 18 May 2014
This exhibition is now closed.
2014 marks the 800th anniversary of Roger Bacon’s birth and provides an appropriate occasion to celebrate Oxford as a world centre of medical learning.
Bacon, who became known as England’s ‘Doctor Mirabilis’, led the way towards the emergence of medical science as an inductive study of nature, based on and tested by experiment. For more than 800 years, scientists, philosophers, and physicians have made the city an outstanding scientific centre, and established much of the scientific attitude and spirit which we now take for granted.
This exhibition tells of their curiosity, innovation, and tenacity which have contributed to our understanding of human biology in both health and disease.
This exhibition was curated by Conrad Keating, Writer-In-Residence, The Wellcome Unit for the History of Medicine.
Explore the exhibition
- Early Medicine
- The Cell
- Self-adjustable Eyeglasses
- Penicillin
- Blood Circulation
- Neurology
- Medicine in the Tropics
- Bedside Teaching
- The Oxford Knee
- Haemophilia
- The Glucose Sensor
- The Nuffield Benefaction
- Open Access
In a series of videos linked to the themes of the exhibition, experts from around Oxford tell the story of the city's place in the history of medicine, from the medieval period to its current position at the forefront of medical research and clinical practice.