The International Medical Congress (french: Congrès International de Médecine) was a series of international
scientific conferences on
medicine
Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...
that took place, periodically, from 1867 until 1913.
The idea of such a congress came in 1865, during the third annual Medical Congress of France; Professor Henri Giutrac proposed holding an international medical conference in 1867, taking advantage of the fact that physicians and surgeons from all over the world would surely be in Paris to attend that year's
International Exhibition
A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...
. The first congress was a great success; it enjoyed the patronage of the
French Government
The Government of France (French: ''Gouvernement français''), officially the Government of the French Republic (''Gouvernement de la République française'' ), exercises executive power in France. It is composed of the Prime Minister, who i ...
, having been officially attended by
Victor Duruy
Jean Victor Duruy (10 September 1811 – 25 November 1894) was a French historian and statesman.
Life
Duruy was born in Paris, the son of a factory worker, and at first intended for his father's trade. Having passed brilliantly through the Éc ...
,
Minister of Public Instruction, and had several honorary members selected from foreign diplomatic bodies and learned societies.
Congresses
Proposed Congress
The 18th Congress was due to be held in
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
in 1917, as unanimously agreed by the permanent commission of the International Congress at the 17th Congress in 1913. The
Bavarian government
The politics of Bavaria takes place within a framework of a federal parliamentary representative democratic republic, where the Federal Government of Germany exercises sovereign rights with certain powers reserved to the states of Germany inclu ...
and the
Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich
The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich or LMU; german: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Germany. It is Germany's sixth-oldest university in continuous operatio ...
offered to host it.
In 1914, however,
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
began and the 18th Congress was cancelled.
References
Medical conferences
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