Gunnar Inghe (1910–1977) was a founding father of Scandinavian social medicine and the first editor of the Scandinavian Journal of Social Medicine. He worked as a physician for social care clients in Stockholm from 1944 to 1961 and was professor in social medicine from 1961 to 1975. We (F.D. and U.J.) were his last two PhD students. As we were recollecting the 50-year history of the Scandinavian Journal of Public Health in 2022, it became evident to us how relevant Gunnar Inghe’s work, 45 years after his death, still is for today’s social medicine, population health research and policy in Scandinavia. We shall explain why with five examples of Inghe’s work: reproductive health, health of paupers, foundation of the discipline, international solidarity and collaboration between medical and social care