Dr. Edwin Lawson Koch  


by A. W.   Lorenz-Andree

Dr. Koch
Eminent Physician and Surgeon

  Dr. Edwin Lawson Koch M.D., whose portrait was unveiled in the Medical Faculty Library on Wednesday, was truly a remarkable man who, like his friend and patient, Charles Ambrose Lorenz, achieved much during his short span of life, for he was only 39 years old when he died.
  He was first educated in Jaffna, where his father, John Koch, was a successful proctor. Very little is known of his boyhood, but when he was twenty years old he obtained a Government scholarship and entered the Bengal Medical College in Calcutta.   Here he had a very successful career winning gold medals and the general proficiency prize in 1862 and obtaining also the degree of L.M.S., Calcutta.
  On his return to Ceylon, the same year, Dr. Koch entered the Ceylon Civil Medical Service as a Medical Assistant, and not long after paid a brief visit to Scotland where he obtained the degree M.D. and C.M. of the University of Aberdeen.   Within five years of his first appointment he was made an Assistant Colonial Surgeon of the 1st Class.
  When partly through his efforts, the Medical School was opened in Colombo in 1870 with his senior, Dr. James Loos, as its first Principal, Dr. Koch was one of the three lecturers - Drs. Andree and Vanderstraaten being the other two.   In 1875 he succeeded Dr. Loos as the Principal of the Medical School which post he held till his tragic and untimely death two years later.
  At thirty he was the most successful doctor in Colombo.   The late Dr. J. L. Vanderstraaten, also famous in his time, described him as "a bold surgeon, a successful physician and an expert obstetrician."   It was Dr. Koch who first diagnosed the insidious disease that took away Charles Lorenz, and a few years later he himself, an unfortunate victim to blood poisoning, followed his illustrious friend.
  In 1875 when the Prince of Wales (afterwards King Edward VIII) visited Ceylon, Sir Joseph Fayrer, who was in medical charge of the Prince, having learnt that some of his former pupils of the Calcutta Medical College were in Colombo, expressed a wish to meet them, Drs. Koch, Van Dort and Vanderstraaten were presented to him and he, in turn, presented them to the Prince in the presence of the Governor, Sir William Gregory, referring to them as his "distinguished pupils".


Saddest year
  The year 1877 will always be remembered as the saddest in the history of the Ceylon Medical College.   On November 9th, of that year Dr. J. C. Evarts, demonstrator in Anatomy, and a brilliant and promising young doctor, received a wound while assisting Dr. Koch, Surgeon of the General Hospital.   In spite of Dr. Koch's skillful medical attention, the young doctor died on November 17th from the effects of blood poisoning.
  Within less than a month, Dr. Koch himself was similarly infected and died on December 20th, 1877 when he was only 39 years old.
  "Of more than ordinary intelligence, gifted with a keen perception of the value of his profession and the responsibilities of his duties, he had long been looked upon as the most valued member of the Civil Medical Department.   Professionally he had a few equals.   We doubt if he had a superior in surgery.   The Civil Hospital equally with the Medical School stands deeply indebted to his unwearied exertions."   So wrote the "Ceylon Times in 1877, when the tragic death of this eminent surgeon cast a shadow over the land.
Extensive practice
  At the time of his much lamented death Dr. Koch had the most extensive practice in Ceylon, being an eminent surgeon, a successful physician and an expert in midwifery.   Many stories are current of his outstanding medical skill, but his short life was also full of good deeds
such as his consideration for the poor and his ungrudging generosity.   Money seemed to be his last consideration.   He devoted whatever leisure he had to research and writing, and was the first to publish information about medical history of the island.
  Dr. Koch was fond of music like his good friend Lorenz and would frequently attend concerts with him.   He was also fond of sports and would sometimes attend a "shoot" with Sir Richard Morgan and Lorenz, though much their junior.   He was, perhaps after Lorenz the most popular figure in his day so that his loss was deeply felt by his numerous patients and friends of all classes and stations in life.
Labour of love
Through Dr. J. L. Vanderstraaten's efforts - indeed a labour of love - a clock tower was erected to his memory in the grounds of the Medical College by public subscription amounting to Rs 3,000, and Sir James Longden, the Governor at the time, induced the Legislative Council to donate the handsome clock at a cost of Rs 5,000.   The clock tower is an enduring testimony to the memory of one whose skill was always at the service of the poor.
  As a centenary effort it is proposed, with the permission of the medical authorities to place at the foot of the tower facing Kynser Road, a suitably inscribed marble tablet in order to make the monument better known to the present generation to whom his high ideals and noble life should serve as a good example.