Roy Porter Roy Porter Roy Sydney Porter, FBA (31 December 1946 – 3 March 2002) was a British historian known for his important work on the history of medicine. He retired in 2001 from the director of the Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine at University College, London (UCL). Porter grew up in South London and attended Wilson's School in Camberwell. He won a scholarship to Christ's College, Cambridge, where he studied under J. H. Plumb. His contemporaries included Simon Schama and Andrew Wheatcroft. He achieved a double starred first and became a junior Fellow in 1968, studying under Robert M.
William T. Porter literature, especially the "tall tale" form of humor. Porter encouraged Southwestern authors to write and publish their short stories in the "Spirit", and was involved in getting their works published in book form. He was the editor for two of these collections: "The Big Bear of Arkansas", published in 1846, and "A Quarter Race in Kentucky and Other Sketches", published in 1847. Porter was instrumental in encouraging the career of Johnson Hooper. Another writer who contributed to the "Spirit" was Henry William Herbert, who wrote under the pen name "Frank Forester". The Panic of 1837 hurt the "Spirit's" circulation, but