The Koch Memorial Clock Tower (Sinhala: කොක් අනුස්මරණ ඔරලෝසු කණුව; Tamil: கோச் நினைவு மணிக்கூட்டுக் கோபுரம்) is located on Kynsey Road next to the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka.
History
The clock tower was built in memory of Dr. Edwin Lawson Koch (1838-1877) who was a renowned physician and the second principal of the Colombo Medical College. He died in 1877, at the age of 39, after being infected by a scratch sustained while conducting an autopsy. His friends started the construction work of the tower and completed it in 1881 with the support received from the government (Manathunga, 2016). The English inscription on the tower can be read as follows;
In memory of E. L. Koch, M.D. Principal Medical College. Erected by Public Subscription and Civil Medical Officers 1881
Attribution
1) Colombo Medical College UoC by Cossde is licensed under the CC BY-SA 3.0
References
1) Manathunga, S. B., 2016. Pauranika Sthana Saha Smaraka: Kolamba Distrikkaya (In Sinhala). Department of Archaeology (Sri Lanka). ISBN: 955-9159-39-9. p.57.