International Medical Congress

The idea of such a congress came in 1865, during the third annual Medical Congress of France; Professor Henri Giutrac proposed holding an international medical conference in 1867, taking advantage of the fact that physicians and surgeons from all over the world would surely be in Paris to attend that year's International Exhibition.

The first congress was a great success; it enjoyed the patronage of the French Government, having been officially attended by Victor Duruy, Minister of Public Instruction, and had several honorary members selected from foreign diplomatic bodies and learned societies.

[11] The Royal Mail Steam Packet Company offered doctors in Britain a 25% discount on the cost of the fare from Southampton to Lisbon.

[13] The Great Britain and Ireland Committee convened a meeting on 13 July 1903 with Frederick William Pavy as chair.

The opinion of the Great Britain and Ireland Committee was that this made the Congress unwieldy due to the number of people.