[History by Numbers] Doctoring the figures

How many physicians practised in the past?

This week I’m going to take a look at the data about the historic medical profession, particularly as explored in Anne Digby’s 1994 book Making a Medical Living, which looks at the profession in England from 1720 to 1911. This is one of several fascinating volumes in the ‘Cambridge Studies in Population, Economy and Society in Past Time’ series.

First, how many people actually practised medicine in this period?

Picture by Garry Walton