The Lancet
In 1823, Thomas Wakley opened a small office in London to publish the first issue of The Lancet. He named his new journal after the surgical scalpel he used as an English surgeon. Wakley wanted to expose corruption within the medical establishment that charged patients exorbitant fees for basic care. His opening editorial declared that medicine should be taught freely to all people, not just the wealthy elite. He began reprinting lectures from United Hospitals without paying the usual £15 fee required by professors. This decision sparked immediate legal trouble when multiple parties sued him for copyright infringement and defamation. Every single lawsuit ended with Wakley winning in court, which boosted his reputation among working-class readers. By 1825, over 4,000 subscribers paid one sixpence per copy to read his radical views. Seven years later, subscriptions had doubled to more than 8,000 copies sold weekly. Pamphleteer William Cobbett joined the staff to write political commentary alongside medical reports. The journal dominated UK medical news by 1840 while challenging the power of established academic institutions.
The Wakley family maintained control of The Lancet until 1908 when they passed editorship to outside hands. Hodder & Stoughton acquired the publication in 1921 before selling it to Elsevier in 1991. Richard Horton took over as editor-in-chief in 1995 and has held the position ever since. The journal now maintains editorial offices in London, New York City, and Beijing to serve a global audience. Horton has stated that The Lancet practices health equity by dedicating more articles to problems affecting low and middle-income countries. Senior editor Maneet Virdi confirmed that the journal stands against racism and all forms of discrimination. In 2020, The Lancet expressed solidarity with George Floyd protests and formed a Group for Racial Equity. A special issue published in December 2022 discussed promoting racial and ethnic equity in science and other practices. The journal accepts only about 5% of submitted articles and reviews each submission within 72 hours. Accepted articles undergo extensive peer review before being published within four weeks. Authors pay no fee to submit but can choose to sponsor their accepted work for $5,000.
Early issues exposed unhygienic conditions at multiple hospitals which prompted government action across England. Physician James Blundell wrote an article describing the first successful blood transfusion performed on a human patient. Surgeon Joseph Lister contributed an explanation in 1867 showing how antiseptics could treat abscesses effectively. Charles Samuel published the first article about shell shock in 1915 while treating soldiers during World War I. Psychiatrist William Rivers followed up with another study on shell shock in 1918 that changed military medicine forever. Until 1825, The Lancet also published gossip about celebrities and political news alongside medical reports. German doctors who treated Alexei Navalny after his poisoning by the FSB published findings in late 2020. Their article detailed using cholinesterase inhibitors to save him and described his path to recovery. Dmitry Peskov, Press Secretary of the President of Russia, dismissed the publication saying they do not read medical journals. The journal has now published over 10,000 articles total reaching 1.8 million active users worldwide.
Andrew Wakefield published a paper in 1998 suggesting a link between MMR vaccines and autism spectrum disorder. Ten coauthors repudiated this claim in February 2004 stating MMR could not cause autism. Editor-in-chief Richard Horton declared the original paper had fatal conflicts of interest that were never disclosed. The journal completely retracted the paper on the 2nd of February 2010 after Wakefield was found acting unethically. Six editors faced criticism in 2011 for covering up what became known as the Wakefield concocted fear. A study published in May 2020 claimed hydroxychloroquine harmed COVID-19 patients but lacked verifiable data. Independent reviewers discovered Surgisphere would not provide requested documentation or database elements for verification. Authors asked The Lancet to retract the article which happened on the 3rd of June 2020. Editors announced policy changes titled Learning from a retraction on the 22nd of September 2020 to improve quality control. Two papers by surgeon Paolo Macchiarini discussing tissue-engineered trachea transplants were retracted in October 2023. These papers contained fabricated information confirmed by an investigation from the Swedish National Board for Assessment of Research Misconduct.
A December 2003 editorial called for tobacco use to be completely banned throughout the United Kingdom. John Britton, chairman of the Royal College of Physicians tobacco advisory group, rejected this argument calling it a nightmare. Amanda Sandford from Action on Smoking and Health stated criminalizing behavior practiced by 26% of the population was ludicrous. Smokers rights group FOREST director Simon Clark labeled the journal fascist while arguing hypocrisy existed regarding junk food bans. Richard Horton later visited Israel's Rambam Hospital after publishing an Open letter for the people of Gaza in August 2014. He deeply regretted the polarization caused by Dr Paola Manduca's letter despite initially refusing to retract it. Mark Pepys of the Jewish Medical Association criticized the letter as a partisan political diatribe inappropriate for serious publication. A February 2020 letter signed by 27 scientists condemned conspiracy theories about COVID-19 origins but faced criticism for chilling scientific debate. Emails obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests showed members concealed their involvement to create false impressions of unanimity. An op-ed published in June 2024 stated SARS-CoV-2 is a natural virus that found its way into humans through mundane contact.
The Lancet consistently ranks among top journals in general medicine based on major citation indexes worldwide. Scopus lists it number one out of 636 journals with a percentile ranking of 99.84 in General Medicine. Web of Science places it first out of 325 journals in Medicine, General & Internal categories with a 99.80 percentile. The journal achieved an impact factor of 88.5 according to Journal Citation Reports in 2024. This score ranks it above The New England Journal of Medicine in the same category. BMJ Open reported in 2017 that The Lancet was more frequently cited in general newspapers than competitors like NEJM or JAMA. The journal has editorial offices in London, New York City, and Beijing serving a global audience. It publishes original research articles, review seminars, editorials, book reviews, correspondence, news features, and case reports. All potential authors must follow authorship rules created by International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. Subscribers pay one sixpence per copy while modern digital access reaches millions of active users globally.
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Common questions
When did Thomas Wakley open The Lancet in London?
Thomas Wakley opened a small office in London to publish the first issue of The Lancet in 1823. He named his new journal after the surgical scalpel he used as an English surgeon.
What happened when The Lancet retracted Andrew Wakefield's paper on vaccines and autism?
The journal completely retracted the paper on the 2nd of February 2010 after Wakefield was found acting unethically. Six editors faced criticism in 2011 for covering up what became known as the Wakefield concocted fear.
Who currently edits The Lancet and where are its editorial offices located?
Richard Horton took over as editor-in-chief in 1995 and has held the position ever since. The journal now maintains editorial offices in London, New York City, and Beijing to serve a global audience.
How many articles does The Lancet accept from submissions each year?
The journal accepts only about 5% of submitted articles and reviews each submission within 72 hours. Accepted articles undergo extensive peer review before being published within four weeks.
When did The Lancet retract the hydroxychloroquine study regarding COVID-19 patients?
Authors asked The Lancet to retract the article which happened on the 3rd of June 2020. Editors announced policy changes titled Learning from a retraction on the 22nd of September 2020 to improve quality control.