The Charter
At the meeting held in Dr. Crane’s office on March 21, 1927, the group consisted of only three members: Dr. Crane, Dr. Lloyd, and student E.A. Bartram. In just over a month, twelve other students were added to the list of members according to the new rules of election.
The Constitution of the Osler Society deemed that membership would be made up of undergraduate students at the Medical School. Members “must be nominated at one meeting and voted upon at the next meeting”. Graduates of the Medical School and Alumni of the Society would always be welcome to attend future meetings as Honorary Members, but only active members could present their research and papers on various topics in medical history. Once a year, the society would invite Honorary Members or other guests to present their own papers.
Membership to the Osler Society became exclusive with its 1929 amendments, as it was decided that: “no more than four members be received from any one year,… prospective members [would] be considered primarily on their academic standing, [and] the first four in the class [would receive] consideration first”. Being invited to become a member of the Osler Society was an elite honor for medical students during its early years.
The Osler Society had been operating for eight months under the name of Sir William Osler before they sent a formal letter to Lady Osler seeking permission to use her late husband as their namesake. The letter was sent on November 29, 1927, but no response is held in the fonds. Crane refers in
the letter to a visit that he made to see Lady Osler in 1923. In the 1925 photograph, which may have been annotated later by Crane, he refers to her approval of the name of the Society.
The Osler Society Gavel
In 1931, the Osler Society was visited by Dr. Norman B. Gwyn, William Osler's nephew. Gwyn presented the society with wood from William Osler's birthplace in Bond Head, Canada West (Ontario). The wood was fashioned into a gavel by a local craftsman and remains in use at meetings today.
