title: Beneficence, temperance and medical science.
abstract: John Coakley Lettsom (1744-1815) founded the Medical Society of London and played a key role in the development of the Royal Humane Society. His Quaker background underpinned his interest in social reform. He established dispensaries and soup kitchens for the poor, recognized the need for public health measures in the control of disease, and advocated prison reform and education of the poor.
authors.affiliation: Multidisciplinary Pain Centre, Royal Brisbane Hospital, Herston, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Cramond
mesh_terms: D000533:Altruism; D004739:England; D049671:History, 18th Century; D006801:Humans; D011634:Public Health / Q000266:history*; D012955:Societies, Medical / Q000266:history; D013695:Temperance / Q000266:history