The Museum of the History of Medicine, brainchild of Dr Cyril Adler, was formally inaugurated at a public lecture held in the Great Hall of the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in April 1962. The inaugural address was delivered by Major General A J Orenstein.

The Museum`s role was to collect and preserve for posterity all material that would illustrate the History of medicine in general and of South Africa in particular.