Medical statistics, patronage and the state: The development of the MRC statistical unit, 1911-1948

Medical History

Volumn 44, Issue 3, 2000, Pages 341-362

  Higgs, Edward ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF ESSEX   (United Kingdom)

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EID: 12444304819     PISSN: 00257273     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
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References (152)

1. For the 1946 clinical trial, see J R Matthews, Quantification and the quest for medical certainly, Princeton University Press, 1995, pp. 115-40. For the statistical work on smoking, see V Berridge, 'Science and policy: the case of postwar British smoking policy', in S Lock, L A Reynolds, E M Tansey (eds), Ashes to ashes, Amsterdam, Rodopi, 1998, pp. 150-71; D Collingridge and C Reeve, Science speaks to power, London, Pinter, 1986, pp. 123-44; R Doll and A B Hill, 'Smoking and carcinoma of the lung', Br. med. J., 1950, ii: 739-48; R Doll and A B Hill, 'A study of the aetiology of carcinoma of the lung', Br. med. J., 1952, ii: 1271-86; R Doll and A B Hill, 'Lung cancer and other causes of death in relation to smoking', Br. med. J., 1956, ii: 1071-81.
2. For the 1946 clinical trial, see J R Matthews, Quantification and the quest for medical certainly, Princeton University Press, 1995, pp. 115-40. For the statistical work on smoking, see V Berridge, 'Science and policy: the case of postwar British smoking policy', in S Lock, L A Reynolds, E M Tansey (eds), Ashes to ashes, Amsterdam, Rodopi, 1998, pp. 150-71; D Collingridge and C Reeve, Science speaks to power, London, Pinter, 1986, pp. 123-44; R Doll and A B Hill, 'Smoking and carcinoma of the lung', Br. med. J., 1950, ii: 739-48; R Doll and A B Hill, 'A study of the aetiology of carcinoma of the lung', Br. med. J., 1952, ii: 1271-86; R Doll and A B Hill, 'Lung cancer and other causes of death in relation to smoking', Br. med. J., 1956, ii: 1071-81.
3. For the 1946 clinical trial, see J R Matthews, Quantification and the quest for medical certainly, Princeton University Press, 1995, pp. 115-40. For the statistical work on smoking, see V Berridge, 'Science and policy: the case of postwar British smoking policy', in S Lock, L A Reynolds, E M Tansey (eds), Ashes to ashes, Amsterdam, Rodopi, 1998, pp. 150-71; D Collingridge and C Reeve, Science speaks to power, London, Pinter, 1986, pp. 123-44; R Doll and A B Hill, 'Smoking and carcinoma of the lung', Br. med. J., 1950, ii: 739-48; R Doll and A B Hill, 'A study of the aetiology of carcinoma of the lung', Br. med. J., 1952, ii: 1271-86; R Doll and A B Hill, 'Lung cancer and other causes of death in relation to smoking', Br. med. J., 1956, ii: 1071-81.
4. For the 1946 clinical trial, see J R Matthews, Quantification and the quest for medical certainly, Princeton University Press, 1995, pp. 115-40. For the statistical work on smoking, see V Berridge, 'Science and policy: the case of postwar British smoking policy', in S Lock, L A Reynolds, E M Tansey (eds), Ashes to ashes, Amsterdam, Rodopi, 1998, pp. 150-71; D Collingridge and C Reeve, Science speaks to power, London, Pinter, 1986, pp. 123-44; R Doll and A B Hill, 'Smoking and carcinoma of the lung', Br. med. J., 1950, ii: 739-48; R Doll and A B Hill, 'A study of the aetiology of carcinoma of the lung', Br. med. J., 1952, ii: 1271-86; R Doll and A B Hill, 'Lung cancer and other causes of death in relation to smoking', Br. med. J., 1956, ii: 1071-81.
5. For the 1946 clinical trial, see J R Matthews, Quantification and the quest for medical certainly, Princeton University Press, 1995, pp. 115-40. For the statistical work on smoking, see V Berridge, 'Science and policy: the case of postwar British smoking policy', in S Lock, L A Reynolds, E M Tansey (eds), Ashes to ashes, Amsterdam, Rodopi, 1998, pp. 150-71; D Collingridge and C Reeve, Science speaks to power, London, Pinter, 1986, pp. 123-44; R Doll and A B Hill, 'Smoking and carcinoma of the lung', Br. med. J., 1950, ii: 739-48; R Doll and A B Hill, 'A study of the aetiology of carcinoma of the lung', Br. med. J., 1952, ii: 1271-86; R Doll and A B Hill, 'Lung cancer and other causes of death in relation to smoking', Br. med. J., 1956, ii: 1071-81.
6. For the 1946 clinical trial, see J R Matthews, Quantification and the quest for medical certainly, Princeton University Press, 1995, pp. 115-40. For the statistical work on smoking, see V Berridge, 'Science and policy: the case of postwar British smoking policy', in S Lock, L A Reynolds, E M Tansey (eds), Ashes to ashes, Amsterdam, Rodopi, 1998, pp. 150-71; D Collingridge and C Reeve, Science speaks to power, London, Pinter, 1986, pp. 123-44; R Doll and A B Hill, 'Smoking and carcinoma of the lung', Br. med. J., 1950, ii: 739-48; R Doll and A B Hill, 'A study of the aetiology of carcinoma of the lung', Br. med. J., 1952, ii: 1271-86; R Doll and A B Hill, 'Lung cancer and other causes of death in relation to smoking', Br. med. J., 1956, ii: 1071-81.
7. Matthews, op. cit., note 1 above, pp. 115-30.
8. Public Record Office, London (hereafter PRO) FD 2/14 Medical Research Council (hereafter MRC): Annual reports: Annual report of the MRC for the year 1927-1928, p. 132;
9. PRO FD 1/7107 MRC: Files: Statistical Committee: Establishment and Correspondence: Memorandum of 15 March 1927 entitled 'Statistical work for the council', and memorandum from Greenwood to Fletcher of 24 March 1927;
10. PRO FD 2/22, Annual report of the MRC for the year 1935-1936, pp. 135-6.
11. R Davidson, Whitehall and the labour problem in late-Victorian and Edwardian Britain, London, Croom Helm, 1985.
12. See, for example, G Rosen, Specialization of medicine, New York, Proben Press, 1944;
13. R Stevens, Medical practice in modern England: the impact of specialization and state medicine. New Haven, Yale University Press, 1966
14. ; L Granshaw, '"Fame and fortune by means of bricks and mortar": the medical profession and specialist hospitals in Britain, 1800-1948', in L Granshaw and R Porter (eds), The hospital in history, London, Routledge, 1989, pp. 199-220.
15. S V F Butler, 'A transformation in training: the formation of university medical faculties in Manchester, Leeds, and Liverpool, 1870-84', Med. Hist., 1986, 30: 115-32.
16. L Wilkinson, 'Epidemiology', in W F Bynum and R Porter (eds), Companion encyclopedia of the history of medicine, London, Routledge, 1997, vol. 2, pp. 1262-82, on p. 1262.
17. Matthews, op. cit., note 1 above, pp. 86-130.
18. J M Eyler, Victorian social medicine: the ideas and methods of William Farr, London, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1979, pp. 97-122; J M Eyler, Sir Arthur Newsholme and state medicine, 1885-1935, Cambridge University Press, 1997.
19. J M Eyler, Victorian social medicine: the ideas and methods of William Farr, London, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1979, pp. 97-122; J M Eyler, Sir Arthur Newsholme and state medicine, 1885-1935, Cambridge University Press, 1997.
20. M E Magnello, 'The introduction of mathematical statistics into medical research: the roles of Karl Pearson, Major Greenwood and Austin Bradford Hill', in M E Magnello and A Hardy (eds), Measuring health: quantification and statistics in the history of medicine, Amsterdam, Rodopi, forthcoming.
21. See, for example, M Gowing, Science and politics, London, J W Ruddock, 1977; P Gummett, Scientists in Whitehall, Manchester University Press, 1980; W McGucken, Scientists, society, and the state: the social relations of science movement in Britain, 1931-1947, Columbus, Ohio State University Press, 1984, pp. 155-264; J Ronayne, Science in government, London, Edward Arnold, 1984, pp. 10-12, 16-1 8; Collingridge and Reeve, op. cit., note 1 above; A Barker and B G Peters (eds), The politics of expert advice, Edinburgh University Press, 1993.
22. See, for example, M Gowing, Science and politics, London, J W Ruddock, 1977; P Gummett, Scientists in Whitehall, Manchester University Press, 1980; W McGucken, Scientists, society, and the state: the social relations of science movement in Britain, 1931-1947, Columbus, Ohio State University Press, 1984, pp. 155-264; J Ronayne, Science in government, London, Edward Arnold, 1984, pp. 10-12, 16-1 8; Collingridge and Reeve, op. cit., note 1 above; A Barker and B G Peters (eds), The politics of expert advice, Edinburgh University Press, 1993.
23. See, for example, M Gowing, Science and politics, London, J W Ruddock, 1977; P Gummett, Scientists in Whitehall, Manchester University Press, 1980; W McGucken, Scientists, society, and the state: the social relations of science movement in Britain, 1931-1947, Columbus, Ohio State University Press, 1984, pp. 155-264; J Ronayne, Science in government, London, Edward Arnold, 1984, pp. 10-12, 16-1 8; Collingridge and Reeve, op. cit., note 1 above; A Barker and B G Peters (eds), The politics of expert advice, Edinburgh University Press, 1993.
24. See, for example, M Gowing, Science and politics, London, J W Ruddock, 1977; P Gummett, Scientists in Whitehall, Manchester University Press, 1980; W McGucken, Scientists, society, and the state: the social relations of science movement in Britain, 1931-1947, Columbus, Ohio State University Press, 1984, pp. 155-264; J Ronayne, Science in government, London, Edward Arnold, 1984, pp. 10-12, 16-1 8; Collingridge and Reeve, op. cit., note 1 above; A Barker and B G Peters (eds), The politics of expert advice, Edinburgh University Press, 1993.
25. See, for example, M Gowing, Science and politics, London, J W Ruddock, 1977; P Gummett, Scientists in Whitehall, Manchester University Press, 1980; W McGucken, Scientists, society, and the state: the social relations of science movement in Britain, 1931-1947, Columbus, Ohio State University Press, 1984, pp. 155-264; J Ronayne, Science in government, London, Edward Arnold, 1984, pp. 10-12, 16-1 8; Collingridge and Reeve, op. cit., note 1 above; A Barker and B G Peters (eds), The politics of expert advice, Edinburgh University Press, 1993.
26. See, for example, M Gowing, Science and politics, London, J W Ruddock, 1977; P Gummett, Scientists in Whitehall, Manchester University Press, 1980; W McGucken, Scientists, society, and the state: the social relations of science movement in Britain, 1931-1947, Columbus, Ohio State University Press, 1984, pp. 155-264; J Ronayne, Science in government, London, Edward Arnold, 1984, pp. 10-12, 16-1 8; Collingridge and Reeve, op. cit., note 1 above; A Barker and B G Peters (eds), The politics of expert advice, Edinburgh University Press, 1993.
27. For the conflation of statistics and eugenics see, for example, D Mackenzie, Statistics in Britain, 1865-1930, Edinburgh University Press, 1981, pp. 73-93.
28. M E Magnello, 'The non-correlation of biometrics and eugenics: rival forms of laboratory work in Karl Pearson's career at University College London', Hist. Sci., forthcoming.
29. In the period 1928 to 1932, for example, Stocks published the following articles in the Galton Laboratory's Annals of Eugenics: 'Fresh evidence on the inheritance factor in tuberculosis', Ann. Eugenics, 1928, 3: 84-95; 'Infant mortality in the metropolitan boroughs in relation to occupation', Ann. Eugenics, 1928, 3: 194-200; 'A study of the epidemiology of measles', Ann. Eugenics, 1928, 3: 361-98; 'The distribution of cancer and tuberculosis mortality in England and Wales', Ann. Eugenics, 1930-31, 4: 341-61; 'On the spread of small-pox in partially vaccinated communities', Ann. Eugenics, 1932, 5: 302-10.
30. In the period 1928 to 1932, for example, Stocks published the following articles in the Galton Laboratory's Annals of Eugenics: 'Fresh evidence on the inheritance factor in tuberculosis', Ann. Eugenics, 1928, 3: 84-95; 'Infant mortality in the metropolitan boroughs in relation to occupation', Ann. Eugenics, 1928, 3: 194-200; 'A study of the epidemiology of measles', Ann. Eugenics, 1928, 3: 361-98; 'The distribution of cancer and tuberculosis mortality in England and Wales', Ann. Eugenics, 1930-31, 4: 341-61; 'On the spread of small-pox in partially vaccinated communities', Ann. Eugenics, 1932, 5: 302-10.
31. In the period 1928 to 1932, for example, Stocks published the following articles in the Galton Laboratory's Annals of Eugenics: 'Fresh evidence on the inheritance factor in tuberculosis', Ann. Eugenics, 1928, 3: 84-95; 'Infant mortality in the metropolitan boroughs in relation to occupation', Ann. Eugenics, 1928, 3: 194-200; 'A study of the epidemiology of measles', Ann. Eugenics, 1928, 3: 361-98; 'The distribution of cancer and tuberculosis mortality in England and Wales', Ann. Eugenics, 1930-31, 4: 341-61; 'On the spread of small-pox in partially vaccinated communities', Ann. Eugenics, 1932, 5: 302-10.
32. In the period 1928 to 1932, for example, Stocks published the following articles in the Galton Laboratory's Annals of Eugenics: 'Fresh evidence on the inheritance factor in tuberculosis', Ann. Eugenics, 1928, 3: 84-95; 'Infant mortality in the metropolitan boroughs in relation to occupation', Ann. Eugenics, 1928, 3: 194-200; 'A study of the epidemiology of measles', Ann. Eugenics, 1928, 3: 361-98; 'The distribution of cancer and tuberculosis mortality in England and Wales', Ann. Eugenics, 1930-31, 4: 341-61; 'On the spread of small-pox in partially vaccinated communities', Ann. Eugenics, 1932, 5: 302-10.
33. In the period 1928 to 1932, for example, Stocks published the following articles in the Galton Laboratory's Annals of Eugenics: 'Fresh evidence on the inheritance factor in tuberculosis', Ann. Eugenics, 1928, 3: 84-95; 'Infant mortality in the metropolitan boroughs in relation to occupation', Ann. Eugenics, 1928, 3: 194-200; 'A study of the epidemiology of measles', Ann. Eugenics, 1928, 3: 361-98; 'The distribution of cancer and tuberculosis mortality in England and Wales', Ann. Eugenics, 1930-31, 4: 341-61; 'On the spread of small-pox in partially vaccinated communities', Ann. Eugenics, 1932, 5: 302-10.
34. Dictionary of national biography 1951-1960, ed. E T Williams and H M Palmer, Oxford University Press, 1972, pp. 1095-6.
35. L Hogben, 'Major Greenwood', Obituary notices of fellows of the Royal Society, vol. VII, 1950-51, London, Royal Society, 1951, pp. 139-54; Matthews, op. cit., note 1 above, p. 104; Mackenzie, op. cit., note 12 above, pp. 110-11. He was also responsible for some pioneering work in medical history: M Greenwood, The medical dictator, and other biographical studies, London, William and Norgate, 1936.
36. L Hogben, 'Major Greenwood', Obituary notices of fellows of the Royal Society, vol. VII, 1950-51, London, Royal Society, 1951, pp. 139-54; Matthews, op. cit., note 1 above, p. 104; Mackenzie, op. cit., note 12 above, pp. 110-11. He was also responsible for some pioneering work in medical history: M Greenwood, The medical dictator, and other biographical studies, London, William and Norgate, 1936.
37. L Hogben, 'Major Greenwood', Obituary notices of fellows of the Royal Society, vol. VII, 1950-51, London, Royal Society, 1951, pp. 139-54; Matthews, op. cit., note 1 above, p. 104; Mackenzie, op. cit., note 12 above, pp. 110-11. He was also responsible for some pioneering work in medical history: M Greenwood, The medical dictator, and other biographical studies, London, William and Norgate, 1936.
38. L Hogben, 'Major Greenwood', Obituary notices of fellows of the Royal Society, vol. VII, 1950-51, London, Royal Society, 1951, pp. 139-54; Matthews, op. cit., note 1 above, p. 104; Mackenzie, op. cit., note 12 above, pp. 110-11. He was also responsible for some pioneering work in medical history: M Greenwood, The medical dictator, and other biographical studies, London, William and Norgate, 1936.
39. PRO, FD 5/91 MRC: Files: Professor Major Greenwood: appointment, funding for research: letter from Greenwood to Fletcher of 21 July 1920.
40. Magnello, op. cit., note 13 above.
41. A L Thomson, Haifa century of medical research. Volume 1: Origins and policy of the Medical Research Council (UK), London, HMSO, 1973, pp. 11-21.
42. Ibid., pp. 22-65.
43. Ibid., pp. 191-4.
44. For the MRC's research programme, see A L Thomson, Half a century of medical research. Volume 2: The programme of the Medical Research Council (UK), London, HMSO, 1975.
45. Thomson, op. cit., note 19 above, pp. 9-29, 110.
46. Lancet, 1927, i: 680.
47. Thomson, op. cit., note 19 above, p. 29.
48. Eyler, Sir Arthur Newsholme, op. cit., note 9 above, p. 231.
49. PRO ACT 1/1 Government Actuaries Department: Files: Memorandum on 'Statistics and returns'.
50. PRO FD 2/1 First annual report of the MRC, 1914-1915 (Dated 18 October 1915), p. 6.
51. PRO FD 4/1 MRC: Published reports: The first report of the special investigation committee upon the incidence of phthisis in relation to occupation. The boot and shoe industry.
52. Thomson, op. cit., note 19 above, pp. 114-15.
53. PRO FD 5/79 Letter from Yule to Fletcher 19 June 1924. For equally unflattering comments on Brownlee, see, PRO FD 5/91 Letter from Greenwood to Fletcher, 27 December 1922; PRO FD 1/7107 Letter from A Watson, the government actuary, to Fletcher, 8 April 1927.
54. See, for example, his failure to complete a "compendium of statistical mathematics" for biologists and medical scientists which was promised in the annual reports of the MRC from 1922 till his death in 1927: PRO FD 2/9 Annual report of the MRC for 1922-23, p. 28; PRO FD 2/12 Annual report of the MRC for 1925-26, pp. 43-4.
55. See, for example, his failure to complete a "compendium of statistical mathematics" for biologists and medical scientists which was promised in the annual reports of the MRC from 1922 till his death in 1927: PRO FD 2/9 Annual report of the MRC for 1922-23, p. 28; PRO FD 2/12 Annual report of the MRC for 1925-26, pp. 43-4.
56. PRO FD 2/1 First annual report of the MRC, 1914-1915, pp. 20-1; PRO FD 2/2 Second annual report of the MRC, 1915-1916, pp. 26-9.
57. PRO FD 2/1 First annual report of the MRC, 1914-1915, pp. 20-1; PRO FD 2/2 Second annual report of the MRC, 1915-1916, pp. 26-9.
58. Thomson, op. cit., note 19 above, p. 191.
59. T J Mitchell and G M Smith, History of the Great War based on official documents. Medical services: casualties and medical statistics of the Great War, London, HMSO, 1931, pp. ix-xiii. A selection of the original medical records can be found in PRO MH 106: 1914-1918 War: Representative Medical Records.
60. All that came out of this vast effort in the short term were a few papers in the MRC's Statistical Reports series: A W Ormond, 'An analysis of 8,670 ophthalmic cases treated at a home hospital', January 1919, No. 3; J M Fortescue-Bricklade, 'Statistical and clinical report on 600 cases of gunshot wound of the chest', February 1919, No. 4; W L Mann, A B Soltau and T R Elliot, 'Statistical reports from the British Forces in France on penetrating wounds of the chest', June 1919, No. 5.
61. All that came out of this vast effort in the short term were a few papers in the MRC's Statistical Reports series: A W Ormond, 'An analysis of 8,670 ophthalmic cases treated at a home hospital', January 1919, No. 3; J M Fortescue-Bricklade, 'Statistical and clinical report on 600 cases of gunshot wound of the chest', February 1919, No. 4; W L Mann, A B Soltau and T R Elliot, 'Statistical reports from the British Forces in France on penetrating wounds of the chest', June 1919, No. 5.
62. All that came out of this vast effort in the short term were a few papers in the MRC's Statistical Reports series: A W Ormond, 'An analysis of 8,670 ophthalmic cases treated at a home hospital', January 1919, No. 3; J M Fortescue-Bricklade, 'Statistical and clinical report on 600 cases of gunshot wound of the chest', February 1919, No. 4; W L Mann, A B Soltau and T R Elliot, 'Statistical reports from the British Forces in France on penetrating wounds of the chest', June 1919, No. 5.
63. PRO RG 29/4 General Register Office (hereafter GRO): Letter Books: Out Letter Book 1907-1912, pp. 191-2.
64. Ibid., p. 199; PRO RG 29/8 In Office Letter Book 1908-1912, p. 71.
65. Ibid., p. 199; PRO RG 29/8 In Office Letter Book 1908-1912, p. 71.
66. PRO RG 29/4 GRO: Letter Books: Out Letter Book 1907-1912, p. 212.
67. PRO FD 4/1 MRC: Published reports.
68. PRO MH 78/114 Ministry of Health: Establishment and Organisation Files: Co-ordination of work with Ministry of Health and appointment of Registrar General.
69. PRO RG 20/80 GRO: Establishment Files: Organisation and Staffing: memo, from Vivian to Morant, 19 January.
70. PRO T 162/1 Treasury: Establishment Files: Health Ministry: Registrar General's Department Reorganisation (Higher Staff): letter of 7 June 1920.
71. PRO RG 20/83 Creation of a Department of Vital and Medical Statistics: memo, by Greenwood, November 1919.
72. PRO FD 5/37 Ministry of Munitions, Health of Munitions Workers (Fatigue) Committee: reports; correspondence with MRC, 1914-1918; H Jones, 'Industrial health research under the MRC', in J Austoker and L Bryder (eds), Historical perspectives on the role of the MRC, Oxford University Press, 1989, pp. 137-62.
73. PRO FD 4/16 A report on the causes of wastage of labour in munitions factories employing women. MRC Special Report Series, No. 16 (1918).
74. PRO FD 5/39 Industrial Fatigue Research Board: correspondence with MRC; financial projections and request for funding, 1920.
75. PRO FD 5/37 Ministry of Munitions, Health of Munitions Workers (Fatigue) Committee: reports; correspondence with MRC, 1914-1918.
76. PRO FD 5/38, Ministry of Munitions, Health of Munitions Workers (Fatigue) Committee: reports; correspondence with MRC, 1916-1918, letter of 27 December 1916.
77. PRO FD 5/91 MRC: Files.
78. PRO FD 5/92 Professor Major Greenwood: Research Interests: letters from Fletcher to Greenwood of 2 November 1931, and of Greenwood to Fletcher of 18 November 1931.
79. For Greenwood's appreciation of the importance of Fletcher's role, see M F Fletcher, The bright countenance: a personal biography of Walter Morley Fletcher, London, Hodder and Stoughton, 1957, pp. 286-7.
80. C Bellamy, Administering central-local relations, 1871-1919: the Local Government Board in its fiscal and cultural context, Manchester University Press, 1988, pp. 237-52; Frank Honigsbaum, The struggle for the Ministry of Health, London, Bell, 1970, pp. 20-3; Eyler, Sir Arthur Newsholme, op. cit., note 9 above, pp. 316-33.
81. C Bellamy, Administering central-local relations, 1871-1919: the Local Government Board in its fiscal and cultural context, Manchester University Press, 1988, pp. 237-52; Frank Honigsbaum, The struggle for the Ministry of Health, London, Bell, 1970, pp. 20-3; Eyler, Sir Arthur Newsholme, op. cit., note 9 above, pp. 316-33.
82. C Bellamy, Administering central-local relations, 1871-1919: the Local Government Board in its fiscal and cultural context, Manchester University Press, 1988, pp. 237-52; Frank Honigsbaum, The struggle for the Ministry of Health, London, Bell, 1970, pp. 20-3; Eyler, Sir Arthur Newsholme, op. cit., note 9 above, pp. 316-33.
83. PRO FD 5/91 Letter from Greenwood to Fletcher of 7 April 1919; letter from Greenwood to Fletcher of 23 March 1920.
84. Ibid. Memo from Buchanan to Newman of 19 June 1920.
85. Ibid. Unsigned letter of 29 June 1920; Sixth Annual Report of the Medical Research Committee, 1919-1920, PP 1920, XXI (Cmd. 1088.), p. 90.
86. PRO FD 5/91 Unsigned letter of 29 June 1920.
87. Ibid. Letter of 21 July 1920 from Greenwood to Fletcher.
88. Ibid. Letter from Greenwood to Fletcher of 13 July 1920.
89. Ibid. Letter from Greenwood to Fletcher of 17 June 1920.
90. PRO RG 50/4 GRO Correspondence and Papers: Proposed Consultative Committee on Statistics 1920-21: Electoral Division of the Ministry Of Health: undated memo.
91. PRO FD 5/91 Letter from Greenwood to Fletcher of 17 June 1920.
92. PRO FD 1/7114 Committee on Industrial Health Statistics: Industrial Fatigue Research Board: memo, from Fletcher to the MRC Council dated 9 February 1923.
93. J Austoker, 'Walter Morley Fletcher and the origins of basic biomedical research policy', in Austoker and Bryder (eds), op. cit., note 45 above, p. 27.
94. PRO FD 1/7114 Letters from Fletcher to Pearson of 29 March 1921, and from Pearson to Fletcher of 31 March 1921.
95. PRO FD 2/7 Report of the Medical Research Council, 1920-1921, p. 98; PRO FD 2/10 Report of the Medical Research Council, 1923-1924, pp. 115-16.
96. PRO FD 1/7107 Letter from Fletcher to Newman of 8 June 1925.
97. Ibid. Extract from the Statistical Committee's minutes of 21 December 1926.
98. Report of the MRC, 1924-1925, London, HMSO, 1925, p. 42.
99. PRO FD 1/7114 Memo, from Fletcher to the MRC Council dated 20 February 1925; PRO FD 1/7108 Statistical Committee, Vol. II: 'Memorandum on Organisation'.
100. PRO FD 5/91 Letter from Greenwood to Fletcher of 7 January 1920.
101. Ibid. Letter from Greenwood to Fletcher of 27 December 1922, and letter from Fletcher to Greenwood of 5 January 1923.
102. Ibid. Letters from Greenwood to Fletcher of 29 July 1924 and 1 December 1926.
103. PRO FD 2/9 Annual report of the MRC for 1922-23, pp. 115-16.
104. PRO FD 1/7107 Memo, from Fletcher to the members of the MRC Council of 15 March 1927.
105. PRO FD 2/13, Report of the MRC, 1926-1927, pp. 41-2.
106. Report to the Court of Governors on the work of the School for the year ended 31 July 1936, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, 1936, p. 17.
107. See, for example, Report to the Court of Governors on the work of the School for the year 1936-37, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, 1937, pp. vii-viii, ix.
108. Ibid., pp. 11-61.
109. PRO FD 1/1374 Ministry of Health and MRC - Policy. Pt 1: Concordat of 22 January 1924, and undated memorandum.
110. PRO FD 2/18 Report of the MRC, 1931-1932, p. 113. For Greenwood's earlier collaboration with Topley, see PRO FD 2/9 Annual report of the MRC for 1922-23, pp. 115-16.
111. PRO FD 2/18 Report of the MRC, 1931-1932, p. 113. For Greenwood's earlier collaboration with Topley, see PRO FD 2/9 Annual report of the MRC for 1922-23, pp. 115-16.
112. PRO FD 1/7114 Letter from the Registrar General to Fletcher of 25 February 1924.
113. PRO FD I/7109 Statistical Committee, Vol. III: letter from Greenwood to Fletcher of 11 June 1931.
114. Ibid. Letter from Greenwood to Fletcher of 25 September 1931.
115. PRO FD 1/7110 MRC Statistical Committee: Report, including anaemia and measles, 1933-1936: minutes of the meeting of 26 October 1934.
116. For examples of claims of a crisis, see F Brockway, Hungry England, London, Gollancz, 1932; A Hutt, Condition of the working class in Britain, London, M Lawrence, 1933. For Newman's defence of the Ministry, see On the state of the Public Health: annual report of the chief medical officer of the Ministry of Health for the year 1932, London, HMSO, 1933, pp. 16-43; On the state of the Public Health. Annual report of the chief medical officer of the Ministry of Health for the year 1933, London, HMSO, 1934, pp. 206-21; On the state of the Public Health. Annual report of the chief medical officer of the Ministry of Health for the year 1934, London, HMSO, 1935, pp. 15-17.
117. For examples of claims of a crisis, see F Brockway, Hungry England, London, Gollancz, 1932; A Hutt, Condition of the working class in Britain, London, M Lawrence, 1933. For Newman's defence of the Ministry, see On the state of the Public Health: annual report of the chief medical officer of the Ministry of Health for the year 1932, London, HMSO, 1933, pp. 16-43; On the state of the Public Health. Annual report of the chief medical officer of the Ministry of Health for the year 1933, London, HMSO, 1934, pp. 206-21; On the state of the Public Health. Annual report of the chief medical officer of the Ministry of Health for the year 1934, London, HMSO, 1935, pp. 15-17.
118. For examples of claims of a crisis, see F Brockway, Hungry England, London, Gollancz, 1932; A Hutt, Condition of the working class in Britain, London, M Lawrence, 1933. For Newman's defence of the Ministry, see On the state of the Public Health: annual report of the chief medical officer of the Ministry of Health for the year 1932, London, HMSO, 1933, pp. 16-43; On the state of the Public Health. Annual report of the chief medical officer of the Ministry of Health for the year 1933, London, HMSO, 1934, pp. 206-21; On the state of the Public Health. Annual report of the chief medical officer of the Ministry of Health for the year 1934, London, HMSO, 1935, pp. 15-17.
119. For examples of claims of a crisis, see F Brockway, Hungry England, London, Gollancz, 1932; A Hutt, Condition of the working class in Britain, London, M Lawrence, 1933. For Newman's defence of the Ministry, see On the state of the Public Health: annual report of the chief medical officer of the Ministry of Health for the year 1932, London, HMSO, 1933, pp. 16-43; On the state of the Public Health. Annual report of the chief medical officer of the Ministry of Health for the year 1933, London, HMSO, 1934, pp. 206-21; On the state of the Public Health. Annual report of the chief medical officer of the Ministry of Health for the year 1934, London, HMSO, 1935, pp. 15-17.
120. For examples of claims of a crisis, see F Brockway, Hungry England, London, Gollancz, 1932; A Hutt, Condition of the working class in Britain, London, M Lawrence, 1933. For Newman's defence of the Ministry, see On the state of the Public Health: annual report of the chief medical officer of the Ministry of Health for the year 1932, London, HMSO, 1933, pp. 16-43; On the state of the Public Health. Annual report of the chief medical officer of the Ministry of Health for the year 1933, London, HMSO, 1934, pp. 206-21; On the state of the Public Health. Annual report of the chief medical officer of the Ministry of Health for the year 1934, London, HMSO, 1935, pp. 15-17.
121. Newman's argument has been attacked by Charles Webster, who argues that the measures taken were generally ineffective: C Webster, 'Health, welfare and unemployment during the Depression', Past and Present, 1985, 109: 213-29. For the modern debate over whether Newman's optimism was warranted, see, for example, C L Mowat, Britain between the wars, 1918-1940, London, Methuen, 1955, pp. 480-517; D H Aldcroft, The interwar economy: Britain, 1919-1939, London, Batsford, 1970, pp. 375-85; J M Winter, 'Infant mortality, maternal mortality, and public health in Britain in the 1930s', J. Eur. Econ. Hist., 1979, 8: 439-62; C Webster, 'Healthy or hungry thirties', Hist. Workshop J., 1982, 13: 110-29; J Stevenson and C Cook, Britain in the Depression: society and politics, 1929-1939, London, Longman, 1994, pp. 40-64.
122. Newman's argument has been attacked by Charles Webster, who argues that the measures taken were generally ineffective: C Webster, 'Health, welfare and unemployment during the Depression', Past and Present, 1985, 109: 213-29. For the modern debate over whether Newman's optimism was warranted, see, for example, C L Mowat, Britain between the wars, 1918-1940, London, Methuen, 1955, pp. 480-517; D H Aldcroft, The interwar economy: Britain, 1919-1939, London, Batsford, 1970, pp. 375-85; J M Winter, 'Infant mortality, maternal mortality, and public health in Britain in the 1930s', J. Eur. Econ. Hist., 1979, 8: 439-62; C Webster, 'Healthy or hungry thirties', Hist. Workshop J., 1982, 13: 110-29; J Stevenson and C Cook, Britain in the Depression: society and politics, 1929-1939, London, Longman, 1994, pp. 40-64.
123. Newman's argument has been attacked by Charles Webster, who argues that the measures taken were generally ineffective: C Webster, 'Health, welfare and unemployment during the Depression', Past and Present, 1985, 109: 213-29. For the modern debate over whether Newman's optimism was warranted, see, for example, C L Mowat, Britain between the wars, 1918-1940, London, Methuen, 1955, pp. 480-517; D H Aldcroft, The interwar economy: Britain, 1919-1939, London, Batsford, 1970, pp. 375-85; J M Winter, 'Infant mortality, maternal mortality, and public health in Britain in the 1930s', J. Eur. Econ. Hist., 1979, 8: 439-62; C Webster, 'Healthy or hungry thirties', Hist. Workshop J., 1982, 13: 110-29; J Stevenson and C Cook, Britain in the Depression: society and politics, 1929-1939, London, Longman, 1994, pp. 40-64.
124. Newman's argument has been attacked by Charles Webster, who argues that the measures taken were generally ineffective: C Webster, 'Health, welfare and unemployment during the Depression', Past and Present, 1985, 109: 213-29. For the modern debate over whether Newman's optimism was warranted, see, for example, C L Mowat, Britain between the wars, 1918-1940, London, Methuen, 1955, pp. 480-517; D H Aldcroft, The interwar economy: Britain, 1919-1939, London, Batsford, 1970, pp. 375-85; J M Winter, 'Infant mortality, maternal mortality, and public health in Britain in the 1930s', J. Eur. Econ. Hist., 1979, 8: 439-62; C Webster, 'Healthy or hungry thirties', Hist. Workshop J., 1982, 13: 110-29; J Stevenson and C Cook, Britain in the Depression: society and politics, 1929-1939, London, Longman, 1994, pp. 40-64.
125. Newman's argument has been attacked by Charles Webster, who argues that the measures taken were generally ineffective: C Webster, 'Health, welfare and unemployment during the Depression', Past and Present, 1985, 109: 213-29. For the modern debate over whether Newman's optimism was warranted, see, for example, C L Mowat, Britain between the wars, 1918-1940, London, Methuen, 1955, pp. 480-517; D H Aldcroft, The interwar economy: Britain, 1919-1939, London, Batsford, 1970, pp. 375-85; J M Winter, 'Infant mortality, maternal mortality, and public health in Britain in the 1930s', J. Eur. Econ. Hist., 1979, 8: 439-62; C Webster, 'Healthy or hungry thirties', Hist. Workshop J., 1982, 13: 110-29; J Stevenson and C Cook, Britain in the Depression: society and politics, 1929-1939, London, Longman, 1994, pp. 40-64.
126. Newman's argument has been attacked by Charles Webster, who argues that the measures taken were generally ineffective: C Webster, 'Health, welfare and unemployment during the Depression', Past and Present, 1985, 109: 213-29. For the modern debate over whether Newman's optimism was warranted, see, for example, C L Mowat, Britain between the wars, 1918-1940, London, Methuen, 1955, pp. 480-517; D H Aldcroft, The interwar economy: Britain, 1919-1939, London, Batsford, 1970, pp. 375-85; J M Winter, 'Infant mortality, maternal mortality, and public health in Britain in the 1930s', J. Eur. Econ. Hist., 1979, 8: 439-62; C Webster, 'Healthy or hungry thirties', Hist. Workshop J., 1982, 13: 110-29; J Stevenson and C Cook, Britain in the Depression: society and politics, 1929-1939, London, Longman, 1994, pp. 40-64.
127. PRO FD 1/5073 MRC Statistical Committee: Variations in Employment and Health: Report on Unemployment and Mortality, 1935: Greenwood's notes of a meeting with representatives of the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Labour which met at the LSHTM on 17 October 1933; PRO RG 26/28 GRO: Population and Medical Statistics: Mortality by place of occurrence - depressed areas: letter from Vivian to MacNalty of 31 December 1935.
128. PRO FD 1/5073 MRC Statistical Committee: Variations in Employment and Health: Report on Unemployment and Mortality, 1935: Greenwood's notes of a meeting with representatives of the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Labour which met at the LSHTM on 17 October 1933; PRO RG 26/28 GRO: Population and Medical Statistics: Mortality by place of occurrence - depressed areas: letter from Vivian to MacNalty of 31 December 1935.
129. On the relationship between poverty and mortality, see Greenwood's comments on T H C Stevenson's paper, 'The vital statistics of wealth and poverty', J. R. Stat. Soc., 1928, 91: 221. On Greenwood's membership of the SMA, see D S Murray, Why a National Health Service?, London, Pemberton Books, 1971, p. 96.
130. On the relationship between poverty and mortality, see Greenwood's comments on T H C Stevenson's paper, 'The vital statistics of wealth and poverty', J. R. Stat. Soc., 1928, 91: 221. On Greenwood's membership of the SMA, see D S Murray, Why a National Health Service?, London, Pemberton Books, 1971, p. 96.
131. PRO FD 1/5073 Greenwood's report to the MRC Statistical Committee of 8 July 1933.
132. Ibid. Report by E Lewis-Faning forwarded to the MRC on 6 December 1935.
133. E Lewis-Faning, 'A study of the trend of mortality rates in urban communities of England and Wales, with special reference to depressed areas', Br. med. J., 1937, i: 865-7; E Lewis-Faning, 'A study of the trend of mortality rates in urban communities of England and Wales, with special reference to "depressed areas" ', Rep. Public. Health. Med. Subj., No. 86, London, HMSO, 1938.
134. E Lewis-Faning, 'A study of the trend of mortality rates in urban communities of England and Wales, with special reference to depressed areas', Br. med. J., 1937, i: 865-7; E Lewis-Faning, 'A study of the trend of mortality rates in urban communities of England and Wales, with special reference to "depressed areas" ', Rep. Public. Health. Med. Subj., No. 86, London, HMSO, 1938.
135. PRO FD 1 5073 Report by E Lewis-Faning forwarded to the MRC on 6 December 1935, p. 54.
136. PRO RG 26/28 Dr Percy Stocks' report on 'Tuberculosis mortality in the urban and rural districts of Glamorgan and Monmouth' and 'Mortality in the special areas specially affected by industrial depression (1st Schedule, Part I and 1934 Act) in 1934 compared with 1911-1914 and 1924, and with England and Wales, etc.'.
137. E Lewis-Faning, 'A study of the trend of mortality rates in urban communities of England and Wales, with special reference to depressed areas', Br. med. J., 1937, i: 867. Lewis-Faning's arguments were attacked by R M Titmuss, Birth, poverty and wealth, London, H Hamilton Medical Books, 1943, pp. 52-3, 59-60, 76.
138. E Lewis-Faning, 'A study of the trend of mortality rates in urban communities of England and Wales, with special reference to depressed areas', Br. med. J., 1937, i: 867. Lewis-Faning's arguments were attacked by R M Titmuss, Birth, poverty and wealth, London, H Hamilton Medical Books, 1943, pp. 52-3, 59-60, 76.
139. The importance of the two world wars in the development of the relationship between science and the state has been stressed by, for example, Gowing, op. cit., note 11 above; Gummett op. cit., note 11 above; McGucken, op. cit., note 11 above, pp. 155-264; Ronayne, op. cit., note 11 above, pp. 10-12, 16-18.
140. The importance of the two world wars in the development of the relationship between science and the state has been stressed by, for example, Gowing, op. cit., note 11 above; Gummett op. cit., note 11 above; McGucken, op. cit., note 11 above, pp. 155-264; Ronayne, op. cit., note 11 above, pp. 10-12, 16-18.
141. The importance of the two world wars in the development of the relationship between science and the state has been stressed by, for example, Gowing, op. cit., note 11 above; Gummett op. cit., note 11 above; McGucken, op. cit., note 11 above, pp. 155-264; Ronayne, op. cit., note 11 above, pp. 10-12, 16-18.
142. The importance of the two world wars in the development of the relationship between science and the state has been stressed by, for example, Gowing, op. cit., note 11 above; Gummett op. cit., note 11 above; McGucken, op. cit., note 11 above, pp. 155-264; Ronayne, op. cit., note 11 above, pp. 10-12, 16-18.
143. PRO FD 2/26 Report of the MRC, 1939-1945, pp. 326-8.
144. A Giddens, The nation-state and violence, Cambridge, Polity Press, 1987, pp. 236-42.
145. Thomson, op. cit., note 22 above, pp. 239-40; Matthews, op. cit, note I above, pp. 115-40. See also, Alan Yoshioka, 'Streptomycin, 1946: British central administration of supplies of a new drug of American origin, with special reference to clinical trials in tuberculosis', PhD thesis, University of London, 1998.
146. Thomson, op. cit., note 22 above, pp. 239-40; Matthews, op. cit, note I above, pp. 115-40. See also, Alan Yoshioka, 'Streptomycin, 1946: British central administration of supplies of a new drug of American origin, with special reference to clinical trials in tuberculosis', PhD thesis, University of London, 1998.
147. Thomson, op. cit., note 22 above, pp. 239-40; Matthews, op. cit, note I above, pp. 115-40. See also, Alan Yoshioka, 'Streptomycin, 1946: British central administration of supplies of a new drug of American origin, with special reference to clinical trials in tuberculosis', PhD thesis, University of London, 1998.
148. This is contained in an autobiographical sketch (p. 7) by Greenwood in the Pearl Papers at the American Philosophical Society Library. The author is grateful to Eileen Magnello for providing him with a copy of this paper.
149. Even the influential 1980 Black Report into social inequalities in health was uncertain as to the exact mechanisms underlying the relationship: P Townsend, N Davidson, and M Whitehead (eds), Inequalities in health, London, Penguin, 1988, pp. 5-6.
150. The effects of latitude on mortality levels was a stock-in-trade of interwar medical statistics: Registrar General's statistical review for 1932, London, HMSO, 1935, pp. 32-8; Registrar General's statistical review for 1934, London, HMSO, 1936, pp. 150-5.
151. The effects of latitude on mortality levels was a stock-in-trade of interwar medical statistics: Registrar General's statistical review for 1932, London, HMSO, 1935, pp. 32-8; Registrar General's statistical review for 1934, London, HMSO, 1936, pp. 150-5.
152. Stocks introduced the use of correlation and regression analysis into the GRO's reports: Registrar General's statistical review for 1934, op. cit., note 102 above, pp. 150-5. In moving into collecting data on morbidity during the war to facilitate the central planning of health care, the GRO drew upon the expertise of the Wartime Social Survey: PRO RG 26/24 Sample Survey of Sickness 1943-45 conducted by the Wartime Social Survey: initial planning and development.