As we progress further into the new year, it’s an excellent time to look back and see what was happening at LSHTM 100 years ago. In 1925, the year was marked by many impressive developments, one of the most notable being the development of an agreement with the government of South Rhodesia. South Rhodesia was a British colony, now located in modern day Zimbabwe. In January 1925, an agreement between the government of South Rhodesia and the School was drafted, wherein two research fellows would be sent to the capital Salisbury to study, among other things, Black water fever, a serious complication of malaria infections.
Within the draft was the proposed agreement between the government and the School to pay research fellows and laboratory staff an agreed sum of £1000, which in modern money is around £76,200. The agreement was signed, and in March, the research team set out for Salisbury. Other noticeable research was undertaken in that year, most noticeably in the diseases sprue, leishmaniasis, and leprosy.
In the academic year September 1924- July 1925, the student body numbered 209, creating a new record for the most students studying at the School. The students of the graduating class of 1925 were destined for an incredibly diverse range of countries from Serbia to Egypt. Of the wide variety of destinations, most of the students were headed to India (48), then unknown locations (36), then West Africa (25).
Written by Victoria Shipton- LAORS volunteer.
