Events in the history of the Pitt Rivers Museum that took place before 1800.
Readers are reminded that this table is a work in progress and may be amended or added to at any time.
| Year | Specific date | Event | Source of Information | Notes |
| 1524 | Unspecified | Thomas Linacre bequeathed estates to found 2 medical lectureships in the University based at Merton. By 18th century they had become sinecures. | Vernon, 1909: 13 | |
| 1618 | Unspecified | Sir William Sedley founded Professorship of Natural Philosophy with stipend of £120 p.a., the professor had the use of the room 'which now houses the Hope Collection of engraved portraits'. | Vernon, 1909: 13 | I think the room was either in the Bodleian or the Clarendon building. AP |
| 1619 | Unspecified | Sir Henry Savile, Warden of Merton, founded Professorships of Astronomy and Geometry, they taught in the 2 rooms of middle storey on east side of Schools | Vernon, 1909: 13 | |
| 1622 | Unspecified | Lord Danby bought land opposite Magdalen College (which had been Jewish cemetery) for a 'Physick Garden', with endowment for keeper. This is now the Botanical Gardens. | Vernon, 1909: 14 | |
| 1648 or 1649 | Unspecified | Group of people who had been meeting to discuss Natural Philosophy in London commenced holding meetings in Wadham College, Oxford and later Boyle's lodgings and lab. near University College. This was possibly the Oxford Philosophical Society which remained in Oxford until 1690 (and later turned into Royal Society). Cited members include William Petty (Oxford doctor and Fellow of Brasenose College), Thomas Millington (believed to be discoverer of sexuality of plants) Sedleian professor of natural philosophy from 1675-1704, Dr Seth Ward Savilian professor of Astronomy, ?Christopher Wren, and Robert Boyle | Vernon, 1909: 7 et seq [citing Dr John Wallis, Savilian professor of geometry in 1649] | |
| 1656 | Unspecified | Publication of Musaeum Tradescantianum, a list of the items in the Tradescant collection which formed the foundation of the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford | Ovenell papers Ashmolean Museum RFO/A/3/11 printed pamphlet 2 | |
| 1677 | Unspecified | Presentation of Elias Ashmole's collection of curiosities to the University of Oxford on condition that a building 'should be erected for its accommodation'. | Vernon, 1909: 14-15 | |
| 1682 | Unspecified | Building of the Ashmolean Museum building, alongside the Clarendon Building on Broad Street to hold Ashmole's collection of curiosities | Vernon, 1909: 14-15 | |
| ?1682 | Unspecified | Robert Plot, Professor of Chemistry, appointed first keeper of Ashmolean Museum | Vernon, 1909: 17; Oxford DNB | |
| 1683 | Unspecified | Ashmolean Museum building completed, chemical laboratory set up underneath museum. Described by Anthony à Wood, quoted in Vernon, 1901: 16-17 | Ashmolean Museum website; Vernon, 1909: 11, 16-17 | |
| 1690 | Unspecified | Edward Llwyd, Lhwyd or Lhuyd or Lloyd becomes second Keeper of the Ashmolean Museum | Vernon, 1909: 17; Oxford DNB | |
| 1700-1800 | Unspecified | The Regius Professor (who was supposed to teach medicine and anatomy) had a room 'Schola Medicinae' in middle storey of south side of Schools, in 'eighteenth century it seems chiefly to have been used to accommodate a miscellaneous collection of curiosities, by no means strictly medical in character. One of these was a dresss that had belonged to Ivan the Terrible called 'Joseph's coat'. | Vernon, 1909: 12 | |
| 1737 | Unspecified | Radcliffe (or Physick) Library founded, funded by money left in 1714 by Dr John Radcliffe | Vernon, 1909: 21-22 | |
| 1755 | Unspecified | Bishop Rawlinson bequeathes endowment for Keeper of Ashmolean Museum with 'curious restrictions', the keeper could not be doctors in any faculty, or fellows of the Royal Society or Society of Antiquarians or Irish, Scottish or 'colonial' and must be unmarried. | Vernon, 1909: 19 | |
| 1755 | Unspecified | Matthew Lee bequeaths money to Christ Church to build School of Anatomy and endow readership of £140 p.a. | Vernon, 1909: 23 | |
| 1759 | Unspecified | British Museum opens | ||
| 1767 | Unspecified | Christ Church Anatomy School built, 'outside of south of Tom Quad' | Vernon, 1909: 23 | |
| 1770 | Unspecified | Opening of the Radcliffe Infirmary, funded by money left in 1714 by Dr John Radcliffe. All physicians had at first to be Doctors of Medicine of Oxford | Vernon, 1909: 22-23 | |
| 1772 | Unspecified | Lord Litchfield founds Professorship of Clinical Medicine | Vernon, 1909: 22-23 | |
| 1772 | Unspecified | Radcliffe Observatory building begins | Vernon, 1909: 22-23 | |
| 1790 | Unspecified | Christopher Pegge appointed Lee's Reader in Anatomy at Christ Church, and physician at Radcliffe Infirmary | Oxford DNB |
AP.
