Liber aureus Caesareae Societatis Medicae Vilnensis

Golden Book of the Vilnius Medical Society

Vilnius, 1853–1928

To honour the members of the Vilnius Medical Society, it was agreed on 12 March 1853, to register them in the Liber Aureus Caesareae Societatis Medicae Vilnensis (The Golden Book of the Vilnius Medical Society). It was planned to include in this book the founders of the Vilnius Medical Society and all members of the Society since its establishment.
Antique tooled leather binding; decorated metal cover plaques and clasps, binder’s title tooled in gilded letters, gilded edges. 330 pages. Height 43.7 cm, width 29.5 cm.
It is an important source of information about the history of the Vilnius Medical Society, which is still active today. The book also includes important for the Society events : changes to its statutes and duties, excerpts from minutes, and descriptions of anniversary celebrations.
Excerpt from protocol
Historical reminiscence
List of Society founders
Changes of Society's management
List of members
120th anniversary
Many renowned scientists from around the world were members or corresponding members of the Vilnius Medical Society. Entries in the book show that among the Society's members were Edward Jenner, the pioneer of smallpox vaccination; Christoph Hufeland, the personal physician of the King of Prussia and the creator of the theory of healthy living Ernst von Bergmann, one of the pioneers of asepsis from Berlin, the famous French surgeon Dominique-Jean Larrey, the professor of ophthalmology Joseph Beer from Vienna, the renowned anatomist and surgeon Antonio Scarpa, from the University of Pavia in Italy, the inventor of the stethoscope, Professor René-Théophile Laennec from Paris, the famous Russian surgeon Nikolai Pirogov from St. Petersburg, the chemist Dmitri Mendeleev, Robert Koch from Berlin, discoverer of tuberculosis and cholera bacilli, popular physician and philanthropist, researcher of Vilnius and Lithuanian history Julian Titius, physicians, public and cultural figures Jonas Basanavičius, Andrius Domaševičius, Stasys Matulaitis, Antanas Vileišis, and many others.
Excerpts from the Society members’ register
In 2007, the Golden Book of the Vilnius Medical Society, kept at Vilnius University Library, was included in the Lithuanian National Register of the UNESCO Memory of the World Programme.
Photograph of the Vilnius Medical Society library and meeting room
You can view the entire book in digital format in our Digital Collections. You can also look through digital objects presented in the collections Vilnius Medical Society and Vilnius Medical Society Photos.