The worshipful Society of Apothecaries of London
Hunting, P.; de Laune, G.
Postgraduate medical journal 80(939): 41-44
2004
ISSN/ISBN: 0032-5473 PMID: 14760181 Document Number: 573963
The Society of Apothecaries is both a City livery company and an examining authority for the medical profession. Founded in 1617 by the royal apothecary Gideon de Laune leading a breakaway group from the Grocers' Company, the Society was instrumental in raising the status of apothecaries as general practitioners. Under the Apothecaries' Act (1815) the Society examined for the LSA and it now awards the LMSSA (Licence in Medicine and Surgery of the Society of Apothecaries) and postgraduate diplomas, while maintaining the civic, charitable, and ceremonial traditions of a livery company of the City of London.