The establishment of the University of Birmingham is closely related to the development of medicine in Birmingham.

From the winter solstice of 1767 to 1768, John Tomlinson, the first surgeon in Birmingham, conducted medical education at the Birmingham Union workhouse clinic, marking the first time in England that medical education was conducted outside of London and Scotland.

In 1779, the Birmingham Union workhouse medical clinic developed into a comprehensive hospital and clinical education was carried out.

In December 1825, William Sands Cox began teaching at this hospital and began promoting the establishment of a medical school.

In 1828, the Birmingham School of Pharmacology and Surgery was established, with a strong church background and strict adherence to church rules.

In 1836, it was renamed the Royal Birmingham College of Pharmacology and Surgery.