Wellcome Collection

We believe everyone’s experience of health matters. Through our collections, exhibitions and events, in books and online, we explore the past, present and future of health.

Wellcome Collection opened in London in 2007 and brings social, cultural, historical, personal and artistic perspectives to Wellcome’s work, informing the research we fund, interventions we support, and deeper understandings of health across society.

Our collections are an unparalleled resource for exploring the place of science and health in global histories and potential futures. 

Wellcome Collection cares for thousands of items relating to health, medicine and human experience, including rare books, artworks, films and videos, personal archives and objects. 

History of our collections

Henry Wellcome (1853-1936) was a pharmaceutical entrepreneur. He left us three things in his will: his wealth, his collection of historical medical items, and a mission to improve health through research.

Henry Wellcome travelled the world (and sent others on his behalf) to acquire items relating to his interest in 'the art and science of healing throughout the ages'. After his death, much of his collection was dispersed to other museums and collectors, though we still have thousands of objects in our care and other items acquired since 1936.