Nicholas Attygalle
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Sir Nicholas Attygalle | |
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President of the Senate of Ceylon | |
In office 1953–1960 | |
Preceded by | Gerard Wijeyekoon |
Succeeded by | Cyril de Zoysa |
Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ceylon | |
In office 1954–1967 | |
Preceded by | Ivor Jennings |
Succeeded by | S. J. Walpita |
Personal details | |
Born | 14 July 1894 |
Died | 27 March 1970 | (aged 75)
Nationality | Sri Lankan |
Spouse | Lady Conyta Attygalle |
Children | Lakshman Attygalle, Anula Wijesinha |
Alma mater | Royal College Colombo, Ceylon Medical College |
Occupation | Academic |
Profession | Physician |
Sir Nicholas AttygalleKBEFRCSFRCOG(14 July 1894 – 27 March 1970) was aCeyloneseacademic, surgeon and a Senator. He was the President of theSenate of Ceylonfrom 1953 to 1960 and the first CeyloneseVice-Chancellorof theUniversity of Ceylon,where he was known as the "Iron Vice Chancellor".
Early life and education
[edit]He was born on 14 July 1894 to the prominentAttygalle familyfrom Madapatha, he was the fifth in a family of eleven which included nine sons and two daughters. His father, Don Louis Attygalle, was ashroffand later served as theMudaliyarof theRatnapuraKachcheri.A part timeAyurvedapractitioner, Don Louis Attygalle died when Nicholas was seventeen. His mother was Dolicia Jane Haddagoda.Cyril Attygallewas one of his brothers.[1]
Attygalle received his primary education atSt. Luke's Collegein Ratnapura and his secondary education atRoyal College Colombobefore entering theCeylon Medical Collegein 1913 where he passedLMSin 1919, topping the batch and obtaining a first class in the final examination. He was awarded the Vanderstraten Gold Medal for Pathology. After graduating he joined the Ceylon Medical Service. In 1925 Attygalle left for Britain for further studies and returned in 1929 with hisMRCS,LRCP(London),DLO(London) andFRCS(England).[1]
Career
[edit]Having joined the Ceylon Medical Service after graduating, he served as a field doctor until he left for Britain. On his return he was denied a post ofENTsurgeon and instead was sent asDMONawalapitiyawhere there were no facilities for any surgery.[1]
In 1931 he took up the post of demonstrator in anatomy in spite having his FRCS (England). Again this may have been the only occasion where a qualified Surgeon with an FRCS was appointed demonstrator in anatomy. Thereafter he served as SurgicalRegistrar,General Hospital (1932) and Senior Clinical Tutor (1933) before he was select to be trained as theGynaecologistof the General Hospital, by the then Director, Health Services, Dr. Rupert Briercliffe. Attygalle was the first Ceylonese to obtain MRCOG (Gr Britain) after which he spent time inViennato follow a course in Gynaecological Pathology and Physiology where he also studied operative techniques in Gynecology. Soon after he was enrolled as a member of the Austrian Medical Association and succeeded Dr. Lucian De Zilva as the Gynecologist of the General Hospital in 1935. The ward 9 which he headed remains the University Gynaecology Ward (ward 39) at present. He was a close associate ofLord Webb-Johnsonand DrSamson Wright.[1]
In 1944 he was appointed Professor and Head of the Obstetrics and Gynaecology department and was the first to practice both Obstetrics and Gynaecology and in 1945 he became Dean of theMedical facultyof the University of Ceylon. Holding the post until 1953, Departments of Bacteriology, Biochemistry, Paediatrics, Parasitology and Pharmacology were established in the Colombo Medical Faculty and postgraduate examinations in Medicine (MD, MS andMOG) also commenced during this period.[1]
In 1952 he was appointed to theSenate of Ceylon,the Upper House of Parliament and was made its president in 1953 and knighted as aKnights Bachelorin the1953 Coronation Honoursfor services to medicine. In 1954 he became the first Ceylonese Vice-Chancellor of University of Ceylon, succeeding SirIvor Jennings,a post he head till his retirement in 1967. From 1964 to 1969 he was the president of theCeylon Medical Council.Attygalle served as president of theSri Lanka Medical Associationand chairman of the National Science Council. He was one of the founders of theAssociation of Southeast Asian Institutions of Higher Learning,Member of the Council of theAssociation of Commonwealth Universitiesand president of the Inter University Board of India and Sri Lanka.[1]
He was also the president of the Buddhist Theosophical Society, succeedingS. W. R. D. Bandaranaike,vice-president of theRoyal College Union,chairman of the board of trustees ofAnanda Collegeand was president of the Vidyalankara Sabha.[1]
Family
[edit]Nicholas Attygalle and Conita Attygalle in 1925 who was the granddaughter of Dr John Attygalle, one of the first doctors qualified in western medicine. They had a son,Dr.Lakshman Attygalle,FRCS,and a daughter, Anula Wijesinha.[1]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]External links
[edit]- 1894 births
- 1970 deaths
- Presidents of the Senate of Ceylon
- Sri Lankan surgeons
- Alumni of Royal College, Colombo
- Alumni of Ceylon Medical College
- Academic staff of the University of Colombo
- Ceylonese Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire
- Sinhalese people
- Sri Lankan academics
- Vice-chancellors of the University of Ceylon