Our archive

We often ask our members to explain what being part of the Society means to them and one of the most frequent responses is simply ‘community’. One of our values is to be welcoming to anyone interested in microbes, their effects and their uses. Our reputation as a friendly, nurturing and approachable community, driven by the experience of a diverse set of members has been important to us throughout our history and remains at the core of our identity today.

Our aim is to create a home for all of our members, irrespective of their geographical location, their career stage, their career background or the institution or company they are based in. The Society’s founding members, including Marjory Stephenson, Sir Alexander Fleming and Ralph St John, wanted to bring together scientists working in different areas of microbiology to form a Society that would offer the benefits of interdisciplinary discussion and provide microbiologists with a common meeting ground. Today, that aim is still central to our purpose.

We recognise that being part of the microbiology community unites us and creates something greater than ourselves. It gives us opportunities to connect with people, to collaborate, and a sense of shared identity.

Throughout our history, our members have told us they feel a sense of home and community through getting involved. That can be as simple as attending an event like our popular Annual Conference, by meeting like-minded people and forming new collaborations through one of our grants, or taking part in a major project on a global scale, like our ‘Knocking Out AMR’ programme.

As a membership charity and a not-for-profit publisher, we invest in the microbiology community for the benefit of all. That is our past, it is our purpose and it will be our future. Every microbiologist across our international community is contributing to work that will inspire and benefit future generations – many outstanding microbiologists have been involved with the Society throughout its history, and we are supporting scientists who will make a similar impact on the world.

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    Fifty Years On

    Find out more about the history of the Microbiology Society from Fifty Years On, by John Postgate.

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    75th anniversary: Fleming Showcase Archive Exhibition

    Explore a unique selection of archive items in our Fleming Exhibition, put together in collaboration with Public Health England’s National Collection of Type Cultures team.

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    History of Microbiology, our flagship journal

    Since 1947, the landscape of microbiology research has changed dramatically and the profile of publications, authors, and research topics in Microbiology has changed with it. In 2022, discover more about the history of the journal and the people and articles that played a role in its journey.