During the 1960s psychiatry was particularly concerned with academic issues, both postgraduate and undergraduate. In response, the late Professor Sir Dennis Hill called a meeting of the professors of psychiatry, of whom there were only 16 or 17 in the UK at that time, and 15 assembled in the Great Northern Hotel in King's Cross, London. He suggested that perhaps they should form an informal club. This was duly supported by those present and, on 21 January 1967, the Professors of Psychiatry (PoP) Club was established.