Koch Memorial Clock Tower is located on Kynsey Road, Colombo next to the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Colombo. It was built in 1881 in memory of Dr. E. L. Koch (1838-1877), the second principal of the Colombo Medical School. It stands directly in front of the National Hospital of Sri Lanka.
Edwin Lawson Koch was born on 29 November 1838 in Jaffna, the son of John Godfried Koch, a local proctor and Angenita Dordthea Aldons. Koch originally qualified at the Bengal Medical College in Calcutta before obtaining his Doctorate in Medicine from the University of Aberdeen. In July 1862 he entered the Ceylon Medical Service and was a surgeon at the Colombo General Hospital (now known as the ‘National Hospital’).
Koch was one of the first lecturers at the Colombo Medical School when it opened in 1870 and succeeded Dr. James Loos as principal in 1875. On 20 December 1877 he died of sepsis from a wound he received whilst performing an autopsy. He is recorded to have been “a bold Surgeon, a successful Physician and an expert Obstetrician”.
Through the efforts of Dr. J. L. Vanderstraaten (one of the other lecturers at Colombo Medical School) Rs 3,000 was raised by public subscription for the construction of a clock tower, with Sir James Longden, the Governor at the time, on behalf of the government, donating the clock, which cost Rs. 5,000.
The plaque on the clock tower carries the inscription: “In memory of E. L. Koch, M.D. Principal Medical College Erected by Public Subscription and Civic Medical Officers 1881”.
Also See
- Attractions of Sri Lanka
- Heritage of Sri Lanka
- Waterfalls of Sri Lanka
- Nature and Wildlife of Sri Lanka
- Other Places of Interest Within Close Proximity
Map of Koch Memorial Clock Tower
The map above also shows other places of interest within a approximately 20 km radius of the current site. Click on any of the markers and the info box to take you to information of these sites
Zoom out the map to see more surrounding locations using the mouse scroll wheel or map controls.
Travel Directions to Koch Memorial Clock Tower
Distance from Jaffna Town to the Koch Memorial Clock Tower |
Distance : 4 km Travel time : 15 min Driving directions : see on google map |
0-09 m (87) 10-19 m (77) 20-29 m (46) 30-39 m (50) 40-49 m (24) 50-99 m (49) Ambalama (164) Ancient Anicuts (33) Articles (0) Asanaghara (8) Ashtapala Bodhi (5) Attraction Articles (3) Attractions (227) Beaches (9) Biosphere Reserves (3) Botanical Gardens (5) Bridges (34) Cave Art (6) Caving (7) Churches (17) Cities (9) Destinations (16) Dethis Pala Bodhi (16) Devalaya (42) Events (2) Flora and Fauna (76) Forts (50) Heritage (1657) Heritage Articles (30) Historic Events (5) History (7) Hot Springs (9) Hydro Heritage (93) Irrigation Articles (4) Islands (15) Kovils (25) Kuludage (11) Lighthouses (27) Memorials (53) Mile Posts (6) Mosques (3) Museums (8) National Parks (22) over 100 m (20) Pabbatha Vihara (11) Personalities (7) Pillar/Slab Inscriptions (41) Pre Historic Burial Sites (20) Prehistory (38) Prehistory Articles (2) RAMSAR sites (6) Ravana (12) Reservoirs (63) Rock Inscriptions (11) Ruins in Wilpattu (5) Ruins in Yala (25) Santuaries (7) Sluice Gates (14) Stone Bridges (18) Strict Nature Reserves (3) Sumaithangi (3) Survey Towers (15) Tampita Vihara (240) Tourist Attractions (201) Travel (3) View Points (18) Walawwa (13) War Memorials (26) Waterfalls (375) Wildlife Articles (24) Yathuru Pokuna (4)
Abhayagiri Monastery (20) Ampara District (192) Anuradhapura District (217) Badulla District (119) Batticaloa District (22) Colombo District (80) Galle District (64) Gampaha District (62) Hambantota District (122) India (1) Jaffna District (73) Kalutara District (51) Kandy District (205) Kegalle District (158) Kilinochchi District (13) Kingdom of Anuradhapura (85) Kingdom of Kandy (15) Kingdom of Kotte (9) Kingdom of Polonnaruwa (55) King Kavan Tissa (1) King Mahasen (1) King Walagamba (3) Kurunegala District (174) Maha Vihara (16) Mannar District (47) Mannar Island (10) Matale District (87) Matara District (47) Mihintale (22) Monaragala District (102) Mullaitivu District (26) Negombo (5) Nuwara Eliya District (117) Polonnaruwa District (121) Puttalam District (37) Ratnapura District (164) Trincomalee District (52) Vavuniya District (32) waterfalls in Sinharaja (3) z Delft 1 (5) z Jaffna 1 (20) z Jaffna 2 (24) z Jaffna 3 (13)