The Academy  was founded in 1900 as one of many professional medical organizations and societies for physicians in Rochester that were established at the turn of the 20th C.  Often physicians belonged to a number of these organizations.  As part of its function, the Academy provided educational resources for its members through its substantial library of medical journals and textbooks. It also served a social function as a meeting place for discussions and lectures.  

When the Lyon family donated their house on 1441 East Ave. in 1939, the Academy became a home to educational events, social gatherings and discussions for generations of physicians from all the healthcare institutions and private practices in the community.  

For more details about the Academy's history, see Rochester Academy Of Medicine: Minutes, Scrapbooks & Portraits the Academy's history here.

The Academy's library was the main repository of medical  journals and books until the University of Rochester School of Medicine was established in 1925.  The library holdings of journals and textbooks have been redistributed and gifted over the years, but some treasures of local medical historical importance remain, including a number of historical recorded interviews by Rochester clinicians in medicine and nursing.