E.M. Wijerama, FRCP was a Sri Lankan

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

and

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

. He was the first President of the Ceylon College of Physicians and former President of the Ceylon Medical Association. Educated at

Royal College Colombo Royal College, Colombo also known as; Royal Colombo, Colombo Royal College or Colombo Royal) is a boys' school located in Cinnamon Gardens, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Started by Joseph Marsh in 1835, it was established as the Colombo Academy by Si ...

, he studied medicine at the

Colombo Medical College Ceylon Medical College was a public medical school in Ceylon. The college was established in 1870 as the Colombo Medical School. The college was based in Colombo. The college was merged with Ceylon University College in 1942 to form the University ...

and went on to become a

Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians of London, commonly referred to simply as the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of ph ...

after gaining its membership. A leading consultant physician of the General Hospital, Colombo, he was elected as President of the Ceylon Medical Association from 1947 to 1948. In 1967 was elected the first President of Ceylon College of Physicians. He donated his home in

Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...

to the Ceylon Medical Association in 1964. Renamed ''Wijerama House'', it is the current headquarters of the Sri Lanka Medical Association (SLMA), the most influential professional body in the country and is home to the

Sri Lanka Medical Library The Sri Lanka Medical Library (SLML) is a library which was started in 1844 as the ''Colonial Medical Library''. Later the name changed to ''Ceylon Medical Library'' and then to ''Sri Lanka Medical Library''. It is the oldest western medical organiz ...

, one of the principal medical libraries in the island. The adjoining road which was formally known as ''MacCarthy Road'' was renamed in his honour as ''Dr E.M. Wijerama Mawatha'' by the

Colombo Municipal Council The Colombo Municipal Council is the municipal governing body of Colombo, the largest city and financial centre in Sri Lanka. It consists of a directly elected executive Mayor of Colombo, and elected 119 municipal councilors. The council was f ...

during his lifetime, the first time a street was named after a living person in Sri Lanka.Let us not forget this medical luminary
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wijerama, E.M. Sinhalese people Sri Lankan medical doctors Sri Lankan philanthropists Sri Lankan Buddhists Alumni of Royal College, Colombo Alumni of Ceylon Medical College