RPS launches 180-year anniversary celebrations with a new online history resource

In 2021, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) celebrates its 180^th anniversary. The occasion of the Society’s founding — which took place in the Crown and Anchor Tavern on the Strand, London, on 15 April 1841 — is marked today with a new online history of the Society, and of the wider pharmacy sector.

The RPS museum was created in 1842, just one year after the Society’s founding. As part of the anniversary celebrations, which will build up to the ‘birthday’ in April, the museum will showcase many of the highlights of pharmacy history. A new online catalogue will offer the chance to explore some of the most significant artefacts in the museum’s collection and a 180-second video will offer a virtual tour of the displays. The celebrations will also include an exploration of the importance of women in the history of pharmacy.

Later in this anniversary year, the RPS will launch its five-year plan for 2021–2026 and an inclusive workplace pledge for the profession, and the 2021 Charter Award, which will recognise outstanding work by a member of the Society in promoting the interests of pharmacy, will be presented.

“I’m very proud to be leading RPS as we mark our 180^th anniversary,” Sandra Gidley, president of the RPS, said. “Pharmacy is a vibrant, diverse profession that makes an exceptional contribution to patient care on a daily basis. I’m optimistic about what the future holds in store.”

Paul Bennett, chief executive of the RPS, said he was “delighted we are making our amazing museum collection more accessible through new exhibitions and an online collection.

“As well as celebrating our history with the profession, we’ll be looking to our future as a modern, outward-looking organisation, through the launch of a new five-year strategy for RPS. Pharmacy is rightly at the forefront of improving patient care and we will ensure our members are at the heart of future developments.”