George Lynch (Chief Medical Officer)

George Lynch
Nominated Member of the Legislative Council
In office
1903–1919
Chief Medical Officer
In office
1908–1919
Personal details
Born20 June 1861
London, United Kingdom
Died22 March 1940(1940-03-22) (aged 78)

Dr George William Augustus Lynch (20 June 1861 – 22 March 1940) was a British physician. He served as Chief Medical Officer in Fiji, and was a member of the colony's Legislative Council.

Biography

Lynch was born on 20 June 1861 in London.[1] His father, William Nicholas Lynch, was a barrister who worked at the Middle Temple in London and Georgetown in British Guiana. He attended Westminster School between 1875 and 1879, before studying at Caius College at the University of Cambridge and St Thomas' Hospital.[2][1]

In 1890 he was appointed as a District Medical Officer in the town of Ba in Fiji,[3] progressing to become Senior Medical Officer in 1898,[4] and then Chief Medical Officer in 1908.[5] He served as Head of the Fijian School of Medicine between 1907 and 1919.[6]

In his role as Senior and Chief Medical Officer, he was also appointed to the Legislative Council in 1903,[7] and also served in the Executive Council.[2]

After retiring in 1919, he returned to the UK and settled in Aldeburgh, Suffolk, where he continued to practice.[1] He died on 22 March 1940 at the age of 78.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c John Venn (2011) Alumni Cantabrigienses: A Biographical List of All Known Students, Graduates and Holders of Office at the University of Cambridge, from the Earliest Times to 1900, Volume 2, Cambridge University Press, p244
  2. ^ a b c Obituary The Elizabethan, June 1940, p42
  3. ^ Dr. George Lynch, M.B. (Camb.) Pacific Islands Monthly, June 1940, p40
  4. ^ Fiji Blue Book for the Year 1906, p122
  5. ^ Fiji Blue Book for the Year 1917, p131
  6. ^ David Brewster (2010) The Turtle and the Caduceus: How Pacific Politics and Modern Medicine Shaped the Medical School in Fiji, 1885-2010
  7. ^ Fiji Blue Book for the Year 1904, p81