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Marcus Fernando

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Sir Hilarion Marcus Fernando, FRCP (21 October 1864 – 18 December 1936) was a pre-independence Ceylonese statesman, physician and banker. He was a member of both the executive council and legislative council, as well as the chairman of the State Mortgage Bank of Ceylon.

Sir Marcus Fernando
Born
Hilarion Marcus Fernando

(1864-10-21)21 October 1864
Colombo, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka)
Died18 December 1936(1936-12-18) (aged 72)
Colombo, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka)
NationalityCeylonese
EducationUniversity College London
Colombo Academy
St Benedict's Academy
Occupation(s)Physician, public servant, planter, politician
SpouseMary Frances née de Soysa

Education

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Fernando was educated at St Benedicts Academy (later known as St Benedict's College Colombo) and the Colombo Academy (which was subsequently renamed Royal College Colombo). At the Colombo Academy, he won the Turnour Prize, Junior Cambridge Scholarship and the Mathematical Prize. He received a Ceylon Government Scholarship and Scholarship from the Gilchrist Educational Trust, enabling him to study medicine at University College London.[1][2] He graduated with a BSc, winning the Atchinson Scholarship and University of London Gold Medals in Physiology, Medicine, Forensic Medicine and Obstetrics. He graduated with an MB in 1888, an MD in 1889, and in 1890, was elected a Fellow of University College London.[3][4]

Medical career

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On his return to Ceylon, he served as Registrar of the Ceylon Medical College and the Superintendent of the De Soysa Maternity Home and was appointed the first Consultant Physician to be appointed to the General Hospital Colombo.[1][2] He contributed to scientific discussions on a wide range of diseases, and is associated with a discussion on Diabetes in the Tropics, where he is credited with the observation that it was more common among the affluent Ceylonese.[5] He was a member of the Ceylon Branch of the British Medical Association, was Secretary from 1891–1897, and President in the years 1905 and 1914. He was the founding Director of the Bacteriological Institute in Colombo, and Chemical Examiner to the Government of Ceylon.[6][7]

Political career

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Sir Marcus Fernando

At the age of 43, he resigned from the medical service to take up a career in business and politics. He contested unsuccessfully for the newly created seat (proposed by Sir James Peiris) in the 1911 legislative council election losing to the conservative, but well known retired government servant, Sir Ponnambalam Ramanathan,[8][9][10][11] but subsequently served on both the Executive Council and Legislative Councils. Fernando's manifesto had proposed a progressive programme towards industrialisation.[12] He supported the Donoughmore Constitution enabling general elections with adult universal suffrage and was largely responsible for devising wider representation to the Northern Tamils and Eastern Muslims.[4] Fernando was a former proprietor of The Ceylon Independent, when the editorial staff included Noel Gratiaen and Manicasothy Saravanamuttu.[4]

In 1931 the State Mortgage Bank of Ceylon (the first state-owned bank) was established with Sir Marcus Fernando as its chairman.[13] He also assisted to create the Bank of Ceylon.[2] He, along with Sir James Peiris and Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam, were instrumental in the creation of the University of Ceylon. He was made a Knight Batchelor in the 1923 New Year Honours.[2] In 1929, he co-founded the Rotary Club of Colombo.[14]

Family

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His father was Andrew Fernando Jr. and his grandfather Andrew Fernando Sr. was the Mudaliyer of Colombo.[1][2] In 1891 he married Mary Frances, second daughter of Charles Henry de Soysa and Lady de Soysa, they had two daughters and a son.[1] Advocate Charles Matthew Fernando, the first Ceylonese Crown Counsel was his brother.[15][16] His nephews were Chevalier C.H.Z. Fernando, a pioneer labour unionist Councillor and campaigner for universal suffrage, founding the Young Lanka League and the Ceylon Labour Party, the only Ceylonese to have met Lenin,[17][18][19][20] and C. M. Fernando, a founder member of the SLFP.[21][22]

Legacy

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The Association Sri Lanka Medical Association commemorates his life through an endowed oration.[23][2] Orators include Surendra Ramachandran, Nimal Senanayake and Hithanadura Janaka De Silva. A hall of residence in the University of Peradeniya and a road in Colombo 7 are named after him in his honour.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Wright, Arnold (1999). Twentieth century impressions of Ceylon: its history, people, commerce ... By Arnold Wright page 549-50. ISBN 9788120613355. Retrieved 2011-09-03.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Sir Marcus Fernando Oration". www.slma.lk. Retrieved 2011-09-03.
  3. ^ "Sir H Marcus Fernand0 MD" (PDF). Br Med J. 1 (3914). www.bmj.com: 91. 11 January 1936. doi:10.1136/bmj.1.3914.91-a. S2CID 220015914. Retrieved 2011-09-03.
  4. ^ a b c The Sara Saga, Manicasothy Saravanamuttu (Areca) ISBN 9675719036 pp. 51-3
  5. ^ Bose RKC. Diabetes in the tropics. BMJ 1907; ii: 1053-56.
  6. ^ Medical Research institute, Sri Lanka: History (Official Website) Archived 2014-12-19 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2015-02-25.
  7. ^ "Sir Marcus Fernando – Knight in medical armour SLMA News September 2010 Volume 3 no 9". www.slma.lk. Retrieved 2011-09-30.[permanent dead link]
  8. ^ "What went wrong with Sri Lanka? (Part II) by Victor Ivan". Daily FT. Retrieved 2019-08-03.
  9. ^ Phadnis, Urmila; Muni, Sukh Deo; Bahadur, Kalim (1986). Domestic Conflicts in South Asia: Economic and Ethnic Dimensions. South Asian Publishers. p. 128. ISBN 9788170030713.
  10. ^ "Colombo Changes". rajivawijesinha.wordpress.com. Archived from the original on 2011-09-16. Retrieved 2011-09-03.
  11. ^ "SRI LANKA: THE UNTOLD STORY Beginning of British Rule By K T Rajasingham". www.atimes.com. Archived from the original on 2001-08-27. Retrieved 2011-09-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  12. ^ Bandura Dileepa Witharana. "Technical Education in the Imagination of the Ceylonese Developmental State". SAGE Publishing: 178–9. doi:10.1177/0972266120180208. S2CID 200077621. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  13. ^ Ceylonese Participation in Tea Cultivation: Major constraint for Ceylonese entrepreneurs, by Maxwell Fernando: History of Ceylon Tea Website, Retrieved 5-12-2014
  14. ^ Seventy five years of Rotary, The Sunday Leader, Retrieved 8 January 2016
  15. ^ The History of the Ceylon Police - The Sunday Times. Retrieved 2015-02-25.
  16. ^ Revisiting Ceylon's first sensational murder trial more than 100 years ago By Jayantha Gunasekera (Sunday Times). Retrieved 2015-02-25.
  17. ^ Who’s Who of Sri Lanka: The lives and times of forty eight personalities, Gamini Akmeemana (Daily Mirror) Retrieved 8 January 2016
  18. ^ CEYLON'S BATTLE, The Straits Times (13 November 1929) Retrieved 2 November 2015
  19. ^ Traversed new paths making History, Ananda E. Goonesinha (The Island) Retrieved 2 November 2015
  20. ^ “Sons of the Soil and Strangers within the gates”, Joe Simpson (rootsweb) Retrieved 4 November 2015
  21. ^ C.M. Fernando - Devout Catholic and founder member of SLFP, W. T. A. Leslie Fernando (Sunday Observer) Retrieved 8 January 2016
  22. ^ Charting a new course for Sri Lanka’s success, S. S. Sahabandu (Daily News) Retrieved 8 January 2016
  23. ^ Rosenheim ML. The first Sir Marcus Fernando Memorial oration. Ceylon Med J. 1970 Mar;15(1):3-9.


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