James Muttiah Handy (1869 — 8 November 1920) was a prominent Sri Lankan medical doctor who had an extensive practice in Singapore.

Early life and education

Handy was born in

Jaffna Jaffna (, ; , ) is the capital city of the Northern Province, Sri Lanka, Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a Jaffna Peninsula, peninsula of the same name. With a population o ...

to Rev. T. P. Handy in 1869. He attended the St. John's College in Jaffna, and later the

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

Kandy Kandy (, ; , ) is a major city located in the Central Province, Sri Lanka, Central Province of Sri Lanka. It was the last capital of the Sinhalese monarchy from 1469 to 1818, under the Kingdom of Kandy. The city is situated in the midst of ...

. He then attended the

Ceylon 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 ...

. He travelled to England in 1917 to attend the

University of Durham Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by royal charter in 1837. It was the first recognised university to ...

, where he obtained his

M.D. A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the Latin ) is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the ''MD'' denotes a professional degree of physician. This ge ...

Career

After graduating from college, he served in the Ceylon Medical Department for a few years. He then migrated to Singapore to start private practice, and was met with great success. He became the proprietor of the St. Mary's Dispensary and the president of both the Ceylon Tamil's Association and the Indian Christian Association, and was a member of the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, the Raffles Centenary College Committee and the St. Andrew's Medical Mission. He was the president of the Singapore Family Benefit Society, a Visitor to the Lunatic Asylum, a member of the Rice Advisory Board, a lay reader of the St. Peter's Church and the director of the firm Proctor Brothers Ltd.. He built the Handy's Library at St. John's College in memory of his late brother, Rev. Charles Handy, who was the headmaster of the school. He also built the college's Fall Dormitory in memory of his tutor, Rev. Fall.

Personal life and death

His first wife was educator, education administrator and cookbook author

Ellice Handy Ellice Handy, (1902–1989) was a Singaporean educator, education administrator and author of Singapore's first cookbook on local cuisine. Her cookbook is the longest-selling compilation of recipes in Singapore and is considered a must-have volu ...

. His second wife, Bridget Catherine Beatrice Chelvanathan Handy, was the founder of the Singapore Women's Club. He died at his residence on 8 November 1920. Handy Road was named after him.

References

{{Reflist Sri Lankan medical doctors 1869 births 1920 deaths People from British Ceylon People from British Malaya