Royal Institution Christmas Lectures Royal Institution Christmas Lectures The Royal Institution Christmas Lectures are a series of lectures on a single topic each, which have been held at the Royal Institution in London each year since 1825, missing 1939–42 because of the Second World War. The lectures present scientific subjects to a general audience, including young people, in an informative and entertaining manner. Michael Faraday initiated the first Christmas Lecture series in 1825. This came at a time when organised education for young people was scarce. Faraday presented a total of nineteen series in all. The Royal Institution's Christmas Lectures were first held in
John Davy Rolleston John Davy Rolleston John Davy Rolleston FSA FRCP (25 February 1873 – 13 March 1946) was an English physician and folklorist, who published extensively on infectious diseases and the history of medicine. Overshadowed by his brother, Sir Humphry Rolleston, he established himself as an epidemiologist, gave the Fitzpatrick Lecture at the Royal College of Physicians in 1935-1936 and became involved in numerous other learned societies and medical bodies, including The Royal Society of Medicine and the Society for the Study and Cure of Inebriety. He became the president of three sections of the Royal Society of Medicine, London, including the