R. Kanagasuntheram

Professor Ragunathar Kanagasuntheram (13 October 1919 – 19 June 2010) was a Sri Lankan Tamil physician, zoologist, academic and dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Jaffna.

Professor

R. Kanagasuntheram

FZS C.Biol F.I.Biol
Born(1919-10-13)13 October 1919
Karainagar, Ceylon
Died19 June 2010(2010-06-19) (aged 90)
Adelaide, Australia
Alma materKarainagar Hindu College
Jaffna Hindu College
University of Ceylon
University of Cambridge
OccupationAcademic
TitleDean of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Jaffna
TermJuly 1981 – December 1983
PredecessorA. A. Hoover
SuccessorC. Sivagnanasundram

Early life and family

Kanagasuntheram was born on 13 October 1919 in Karainagar in northern Ceylon.[1][2] He was the son of Ragunathar, a teacher from Karainagar.[1][3] He was educated at Karainagar Hindu College and Jaffna Hindu College.[1][2] After school he joined Ceylon Medical College in 1938.[1][2] He graduated from the University of Ceylon in 1944 with a first class honours MBBS degree and was awarded the Rockwood Gold Medal.[3][2] He passed the part 1 of the Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons exam in 1947 but did not sit the part 2 exam due to health reasons.[1][3]

Kanagasuntheram married Sornam.[3] They had two sons (Narendran and Rajendran) and three daughters (Pathmini, Bhavani and Panja).[3]

Career

Kanagasuntheram joined the University of Ceylon, Colombo as a lecturer in anatomy in 1948.[1][2][4] He then proceeded to the University of Cambridge from where he received a PhD degree in 1952.[1][2][3] He won colours at Cambridge in tennis.[2]

Kanagasuntheram then worked at the University of Khartoum from 1958 and 1962 as a senior lecturer and reader of anatomy.[1][2] He was appointed Professor of Anatomy and head of the Department of Anatomy at the University of Singapore in 1962.[1][2][3] He was the first Asian to chair the department.[3][4] He retired in 1979 and was appointed emeritus professor in 1981.[1][2][3][4] He was visiting professor at Flinders University.[2]

Kanagasuntheram was Professor of Anatomy and head of the Department of Anatomy at the University of Jaffna.[1][3] He was dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the university from July 1981 to December 1983.[1][2][5]

Kanagasuntheram became a member of the Anatomical Society of Great Britain and Ireland in 1951, and later on was made a life member.[2][3] He was a fellow of the Zoological Society of London, fellow of the Institute of Biology and a member of the Academy of Medicine of Singapore.[2][3] He was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Jaffna.[2]

The National University of Singapore has named a bursary in honour of Kanagasuntheram.[6]

Later life

Kanagasuntheram returned to Singapore.[1] He died on 19 June 2010 in Adelaide, Australia.[2][3][4]

Works
  • A New Approach to Dissection of the Human Body: A Thirty Week Schedule Incorporating the Objective Method of Learning by R. Kanagasuntheram, P. Sivanandasigham and A. Krishnamurti (1977, Singapore University Press; ISBN 9971690128)
  • Anatomy: Regional, Functional and Clinical by R. Kanagasuntheram, P. Sivanandasigham and A. Krishnamurti (1987, PG Medical Books; ISBN 9789971973926)
  • A New Approach of the Human Body by R. Kanagasuntheram and P. Sivanandasigham (1988, PG Publishing; ISBN 9813096160)
  • Textbook of Anatomy by R. Kanagasuntheram, P. Sivanandasigham and A. Krishnamurti (1996, Sangam Books; ISBN 0-86311-652-3)
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References
  1. Arumugam, S. (1997). Dictionary of Biography of the Tamils of Ceylon. pp. 73–74.
  2. Gunaratne, Mahasara (2011). "Appreciation: Professor Ragunathar Kanagasuntheram". Ceylon Medical Journal. 56 (2). ISSN 0009-0875. Archived from the original on 12 May 2014.
  3. Tay, S. S. W. (September 2010). "Professor Ragunathar Kanagasuntheram (1919–2010)". Journal of Anatomy. 217 (3): i–ii. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7580.2010.01276.x. PMC 2972531.
  4. Tay, Samuel (August 2010). "Eulogy: In Celebration of the Life of Professor Ragunathar Kanagasuntheram" (PDF). SMA News. 42 (8): 14–15.
  5. "History". Faculty of Medicine, University of Jaffna.
  6. "About the R. Kanagasuntheram Bursary (NEW!)" (PDF). National University of Singapore. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 September 2014.
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