Peter Daniel Anthonisz (25 June 1822 – 12 June 1903) was a

Burgher Burgher may refer to: * Burgher (social class), a medieval, early modern European title of a citizen of a town, and a social class from which city officials could be drawn ** Burgess (title), a resident of a burgh in northern Britain ** Grand Bur ...

doctor who was the first Ceylonese to obtain an M.R.C.P. and

F.R.C.S. Fellowship of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons (FRCS) is a professional qualification to practise as a senior surgeon in Ireland or the United Kingdom. It is bestowed on an intercollegiate basis by the four Royal Colleges of Surgeons (the Roy ...

He was also the inaugural president of the Ceylon Branch of the British Medical Association and a member of the

Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

for nine years.

Biography

Peter Daniel Anthonisz was born on 25 June 1822 in

Galle Galle (, ; , ) (formerly ) is a major city on the southwestern tip of Sri Lanka, south of Colombo. Galle is the provincial capital and largest city of Southern Province, Sri Lanka and is the capital of Galle District. Galle was known as ''Gi ...

, the first son of ten children, to Leonardus Henricus Anthonisz (1796–1845), the Chief Clerk of the Galle Customs, and Susanna Dorothea née Deutrom (1805–1872). In 1838 at the age of sixteen he was appointed as a medical sub-assistant at the Military Hospital in Galle. The following year he was sent to study at the

Bengal Medical College Medical College, Kolkata, also known as Calcutta Medical College, is a Government medical college and hospital located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It is one of the oldest existing hospitals in Asia. The institute was established on 28 Janua ...

in Calcutta, returning in 1843. In the 1850s he worked as a physician at the Military Hospital in Colombo (his patients included the

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Sir

William Henry Gregory Sir William Henry Gregory PC (Ire) KCMG (13 July 1816 – 6 March 1892) was an Anglo-Irish writer and politician, who is now less remembered than his wife Augusta, Lady Gregory, the playwright, co-founder and Director of Dublin's Abbey Theat ...

). In June 1856 he travelled to England, where he obtained an M.R.C.P. (Membership 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 ...

, London) and was elected a Fellow of The

Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd) is a professional organisation of surgeons. The RCSEd has five faculties, covering a broad spectrum of surgical, dental, and other medical and healthcare specialities. Its main campus is locate ...

(FRCSEd) on 1 April 1857. He returned to Ceylon in 1858, where in August he was appointed to as the Colonial Surgeon of the Southern Province, a post he remained at until 1880. During this period he travelled to Europe, where in 1863 he received a

Doctorate in Medicine A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the Latin language, 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 ph ...

from the

University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...

(

St Andrews St Andrews (; ; , pronounced ʰʲɪʎˈrˠiː.ɪɲ is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fourth-largest settleme ...

, Scotland). In 1881 he left to do further studies. Upon his return in 1883 he took up the position of Chief Medical Officer at Galle. Anthonisz was the first doctor to successfully undertake oesophagotomy and

ovariotomy Oophorectomy (; from Greek , , 'egg-bearing' and , , 'a cutting out of'), historically also called ''ovariotomy'', is the surgical removal of an ovary or ovaries. The surgery is also called ovariectomy, but this term is mostly used in reference to ...

surgery in the country. His oesophagotomy was reportedly the first recorded in British medical

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. Anthonisz served on the

Galle Municipal Council The Galle Municipal Council is the local council for Galle, the capital city of Southern Province of Sri Lanka, the third level administrative division of the country. The council was established under the Municipalities Ordinance of 1865 as the ...

(Fort Ward) and between 1886 and 1895 he represented the

community on the

, the first Burgher appointee from a non-legal background. One of his most significant achievements during his time on the Legislative Council was the realisation of the

railway line Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of land transport, next to road ...

between

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 ...

and Matara. On 17 December 1887 he became the inaugural President of the Ceylon branch of the

British Medical Association The British Medical Association (BMA) is a registered trade union and professional body for physician, doctors in the United Kingdom. It does not regulate or certify doctors, a responsibility which lies with the General Medical Council. The BMA ...

(now known as the

Sri Lanka Medical Association The Sri Lanka Medical Association (SLMA) is the professional association for doctors and surgical professionals in Sri Lanka. It is considered to be the oldest national professional organisation of medical professionals in Austra ...

). In November 1889 Dr Anthonisz led the local opposition against the Government's proposal to demolish the

rampart Rampart may refer to: * Rampart (fortification), a defensive wall or bank around a castle, fort or settlement Rampart may also refer to: * LAPD Rampart Division, a division of the Los Angeles Police Department ** Rampart scandal, a blanket ter ...

s of the 17th-century Dutch

fort A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from La ...

. Anthonisz argued that the fort provided protection from monsoon tidal floods and ships at anchor in the

harbour A harbor (American English), or harbour (Commonwealth English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences), is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be Mooring, moored. The t ...

– a fact later proven with the

2004 tsunami On 26 December 2004, at 07:58:53 local time (UTC+7), a major earthquake with a magnitude of 9.2–9.3 struck with an epicentre off the west coast of Aceh in northern Sumatra, Indonesia. The undersea megathrust earthquake, known in the scient ...

. In 1892 he was awarded the

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George I ...

. Anthonisz died in Galle on 12 June 1903 and is buried at the Galle Dutch Reformed Church.

Legacy

The Galle Clock Tower was erected in his memory in 1883. The 'Anthonisz Ward' at the

Colombo General Hospital The National Hospital of Sri Lanka (sometimes General Hospital) is a government hospital in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Founded in 1864 as the General Hospital, it is the leading hospital in Sri Lanka and is controlled by the central government. The hosp ...

(now known as the 'National Hospital') is named after him.

Bibliography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anthonisz, Peter Daniel 1822 births 1903 deaths Alumni of the University of St Andrews Burgher people Ceylonese Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Members of the Legislative Council of Ceylon People from Galle Sri Lankan medical doctors People from British Ceylon