Innominate Society records

The Innominate Society was formed in February 1926 as a medical historical club by a group of twelve physicians meeting at the Seelbach Hotel in downtown Louisville, Kentucky. The object of the club was to present and discuss papers dealing with important topics in the fields of medical history and cultural aspects of medicine. The group, which initially limited membership to recent male graduates, decided to meet monthly during the academic year for a presentation by one of the members or an occasional guest speaker. The first paper was presented that evening by J. Murray Kinsman, MD on Pasteur. For the first nine years a scientific report was included in the agenda. In 1946 the group decided to have only one paper read at each meeting. The membership limit was originally set at twenty, later raised to twenty-five, thirty and then to forty. Membership categories other than “Active” were added as needed. Thus, the group now has Active, Inactive, Honorary, Senior and Special members.