Peter Daniel Anthonisz

Peter Daniel Anthonisz CMG FRCSE (25 June 1822 – 12 June 1903) was a well-known burgher doctor who was the first Ceylonese to obtain an M.R.C.P. and F.R.C.S.[1][2] He was also the inaugural president of the Ceylon Branch of the British Medical Association[3] and a member of the Legislative Council for nine years.[1]

Dr Peter Daniel Anthonisz CMG, MD, FRCSEd
Born	(1822-06-25)25 June 1822 Galle, British Ceylon
Died	12 June 1903(1903-06-12) (aged 80) Galle, British Ceylon
Resting place	Galle Dutch Reformed Church
Education	Bengal Medical College St Andrews University
Occupation	Doctor
Employer	Ceylon Medical Department
Parent(s)	Leonardus Henricus Anthonisz, Susanna Dorothea née Deutrom

Biography

Peter Daniel Anthonisz was born on 25 June 1822 in Galle,[4] the first son of ten children, to Leonardus Henricus Anthonisz (1796–1845), the Chief Clerk of the Galle Customs[5][6] and Susanna Dorothea née Deutrom (1805–1872).[6][7] In 1838 at the age of sixteen he was appointed as a medical sub-assistant at the Military Hospital in Galle.[1][6] The following year he was sent to study at the Bengal Medical College in Calcutta, returning in 1843.[6] In the 1850s he worked as a physician at the Military Hospital in Colombo (his patients included the Governor Sir William Henry Gregory).[6] In June 1856 he travelled to England, where he obtained an M.R.C.P. (Membership of the Royal College of Physicians, London)[8] and was elected a Fellow of The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (FRCSEd) on 1 April 1857.[6] 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.[6] During this period he travelled to Europe, where in 1863 he received a Doctorate in Medicine from the University of St Andrews (St Andrews, Scotland).[6] In 1881 he left to do further studies. Upon his return in 1883 he took up the position of Chief Medical Officer at Galle.[6] Anthonisz was the first doctor to successfully undertake Oesophagotomy and Ovariotomy[9] surgery in the country and reportedly the first mentioned case of Oesphagotomy in British medical annals.[6][10][11]

Anthonisz served on the Galle Municipal Council [12] (Fort Ward)[13] and between 1886 and 1895 he represented the Burgher community on the Legislative Council,[6][13][14][15][16] the first Burgher appointee from a non-legal background.[17] One of his most significant achievements during his time on the Legislative Council was the realisation of the railway line between Colombo and Matara.[6][17]

On 17 December 1887 he became the inaugural President of the Ceylon branch of the British Medical Association (now known as the Sri Lanka Medical Association).[6][13][14][18] In November 1889 Dr Anthonisz led the local opposition against the Government's proposal to demolish the ramparts of the 17th-century Dutch fort. Anthonisz argued that the fort provided protection from monsoon tidal floods and ships at anchor in the harbour[19] – a fact later proven with the 2004 tsunami. In 1892 he was awarded the Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George.[6][20]

Anthonisz died in Galle on 12 June 1903 and is buried at the Galle Dutch Reformed Church.[6][21]

Legacy

The Galle Clock Tower was erected in his memory in 1883.[13][14][22]

The 'Anthonisz Ward' at the Colombo General Hospital (now known as the 'National Hospital') is named after him.[6][23][24]

Bibliography

• Anthonisz, Peter Daniel (1887). Remarks on the Treatment of Small-pox & Elephantiasis. Ceylon Observer Press.

References

1. Roberts, Norah (1993). Galle as quiet as asleep. Vijitha Yapa Publications. p. 78. ISBN 978-9559557906.
2. Uragoda, C. G. (1987). A history of medicine in Sri Lanka from the earliest times to 1948. Sri Lanka Medical Association. p. 304.
3. Hettiarachchi, Kumudini (26 February 2012). "Guiding our Doctors for 125 years". Sunday Times. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
4. Who was who: 1897-2000. St. Martin's Press. 2002. p. 20. ISBN 9780713661255.
5. Altendorft, D. V. "Journal of the Dutch Burgher Union of Ceylon" (PDF). Genealogy of the Family of Anthonisz of Ceylon. Dutch Burger Union. pp. 145–146. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
6. "Journal of the Dutch Burger Union of Ceylon" (PDF). Peter Daniel Anthonisz C.M.G., M.D. Dutch Burgher Union. 15: 45–58. October 1925. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
7. "Sri Lanka Burgher Family Genealogy – Anthonisz – Family #1020". RootsWeb.com. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
8. A List of the Fellows, Members, Extra-Licentiates, and Licentiates of the Royal College of Physicians. London: Royal College of Physicians. 1871. p. 42.
9. Fergusson, William; Anthonisz, Peter Daniel (24 December 1864). "The Lancet". Ovariotomy and Excision of the Knee in Ceylon. Elsevier. 84: 728.
10. "Journal of the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society 1885-86". 9. Government Printer, Ceylon. 1888: 327. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
11. E. L. Koch (January 1946). "Journal of the Dutch Burger Union of Ceylon" (PDF). A Sketch of the Medical History of Ceylon. 35: 81. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
12. "Galle Municipal Council – History". Galle Municipal Council. Archived from the original on 7 October 2014. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
13. Brohier, Deloraine. "Some Burgher personalities of the past in the arenas of public debate and politics". Sri Lanka Genealogy Website. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
14. Uragoda, C. G. (1987). A History of Medicine in Sri Lanka from the earliest times to 1948. Sri Lanka Medical Association. p. 113.
15. Muller, J. B. (7 September 2005). "A Burgher perspective on politics in Sri Lanka today". The Daily News. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
16. Kelegama, Saman; Madawela, Roshan (2002). 400 Years of Dutch-Sri Lanka Relations: 1602–2002. Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka. p. 566. ISBN 9789558708132.
17. Toussaint, J. R. (July 1945). "Journal of the Dutch Burgher Union of Ceylon" (PDF). Burghers Members in Council. Dutch Burger Union. XXXV: 11–12. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
18. "Sri Lanka Medical Association 125th Anniversary – International Medical Congress – Programme Booklet". Sri Lanka Medical Association. July 2012. p. 1. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
19. Simpson, Joe (5 March 2006). "Preserving the Spirit of a Forgotten World – Anecdotal glimpses of the New Oriental Hotel, Galle Fort". LankaLIbrary.com. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
20. Debrett's (1893). Debrett's Baronetage, Knightage and Companionage. London: Oldhams Press. p. 742.
21. "List of Inscriptions on Tombstones and Monuments in Ceylon". Mocavo. p. 209. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
22. De Silva; R. Rajpal Kumar (1988). Illustrations and Views of Dutch Ceylon 1602-1796: A Comprehensive Work of Pictorial Reference With Selected Eye-Witness Accounts. Serendib Publications. p. 164. ISBN 9789004089792.
23. Ferguson, John (1994). Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. Asian Educational Services. p. 261. ISBN 9788120609631.
24. Skeen, George J. A. (Ed) (1906). A Guide to Colombo: With Maps; A Handbook of Information, Useful Alike. London: A.M. and J. Ferguson. p. 62.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)