The Thackray Museum of Medicine, in the early 1900s was a small family-run pharmacy. Charles Thackray, was the owner. He later transformed that small business into a major supply company. medical tools and equipment. In 1990 the company was sold and Charles' grandson Paul set up the museum to allow the public to learn more about the history of medicine. The building in which the museum is housed has a long and eventful history to the rooms. First opened in 1861 as Leeds Union Workhouse, it became a hospice for the city's homeless and poor. In the 90s it risked demolition but being considered a historic building, it escaped it. Thus was born, in 1977, Thackray Museum of Medicine. Inside there are 11 new galleries that show and explain how man, thanks to the progress of medicine, has managed to overcome diseases.