Noël Poynter

Frederick Noël Lawrence Poynter FLA (24 December 1908 – 11 March 1979) was a British librarian and medical historian who served as director of the Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine from 1964 to 1973.

In 1958, Poynter was a key player in founding the Faculty of the History of Medicine and Pharmacy of the Society of Apothecaries and subsequently in 1965, he was one of the founding committee members who established the British Society for the History of Medicine (BSHM). He became its president in 1972 and also became secretary-general of the Société Internationale d’Histoire de la Médecine, later becoming its president too.

He published a number of works related to the history of medicine and also edited ''Medical History'', the first British journal devoted exclusively to the history of medicine. During his directorship of the Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine, his advice was readily sought on matters pertaining to the history of medicine and on organisations. His influence was particularly felt with the Bibliographical Society and he was invited to give a number of eponymous lectures. The biennial Poynter lecture is named in his honour. Provided by Wikipedia