A Doctor and a nobleman. Ennoblement, Honours and Power for doctors in Spain, France and the United Kingdom (c. 1800-c. 1880)

At the intersection between Political History, the History of political power and the History of professions, this article analyses through a comparative study (Spain, France and United Kingdom) the social status of doctors in nineteenth century liberal Europe. It aims at demonstrating that the prestige obtained by doctors allowed them to be considered part of the respectable elites, albeit in a marginal and essentially local way. While the liberal regimes remained based on franchise, and while access to Parliament was limited to those who had properties or were civil servants, very few doctors obtained titles or honours. Those who did were either civil servants or were Court physicians.