The British Pharmacological Society is the primary UK learned society for pharmacologists concerned with research into drugs and the way they work. Members work in academia, industry, regulatory agencies and the health services, and many are medically qualified. The Society covers the whole spectrum of pharmacology, including laboratory, clinical, and toxicological aspects. Clinical pharmacology is the medical speciality dedicated to promoting safe and effective use of medicines for patient benefit. Clinical pharmacologists work as consultants in the National Health Service and many hold prominent positions in UK universities. History The Society was founded in 1931, in Oxford, by a group of about 20 pharmacologists. They were brought together on the initiative of Professor James Andrew Gunn, by a letter signed by Gunn, H.H. Dale, and W.E. Dixon and sent to the heads of departments for teaching pharmacology and of institutions for pharmacological research in Great Britain, with proposals for the formation of a pharmacological club. There were favorable replies to this letter, and most of the recipients met in Wadham College on the evening of 3 July 1931, the day before the meeting of the Physiological Society. Gunn presided over the meeting. It was agreed that a Society should be founded to meet at least once a year for the reading of papers on pharmacological subjects and the discussion of questions of teaching and publications and to promote friendly relations between pharmacologists. The first female member of the society was Mary Pickford (1935), and other early, eminent women include Marthe Vogt and Edith Bülbring. Publications The British Pharmacological Society publishes several works which promote pharmacology: British Journal of Pharmacology is published by Wiley British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology is published by Wiley Pharmacology Research & Perspectives is published by ASPET, British Pharmacological Society and Wiley. pA2 is the e-journal of the British Pharmacological Society. Pharmacology Matters is the magazine of the British Pharmacological Society. Presidents Secretary and Treasurer 1931 - M. H. MacKeith 1934 - Joshua Harold Burn 1945 - Frank R. Winton Secretary 1947 - G. Brownlee 1952 - D. R. Wood 1955 - M. Weatherall 1956 - D. R. Wood 1957 - W.L. M. Perry 1961 - J. D. P. Graham General Secretary 1968 - J. P. Quilliam 1971 - John R. Vane 1974 - J. F. Mitchell 1977 - G. P. Lewis 1980 - A. M. Barrett 1983 - T. Birmingham 1986 - G. N. Woodruff 1989