| Richard Lionel Spittel | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 9, 1881 |
| Died | 3 September 1969 (aged 87) |
| Nationality | Ceylonese |
| Alma mater | Royal College Colombo, Ceylon Medical College |
| Occupation | surgeon |
Richard Lionel Spittel, CMG, CBE, FRCS (commonly known as Dr. R. L. Spittel) (December 9, 1881 – September 3, 1969) was a British Ceylonese (Sri Lankan) physician, naturalist and author. He was one of the foremost experts on the veddah community.
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Born in Tangalle to Dr Fedric George Spittel, who would later become a District Medical Officer in Ceylon Health Service, he was educated at the Royal College Colombo and Ceylon Medical College where he passed LMS in 1905. Thereafter he join the government medical service and was sent to England to complete his higher education. There he finished conjoint diploma in 1908 and took FRCS in 1909.
Returning to Ceylon in 1910 he was appointed as Third Surgeon at the General Hospital Colombo. Going on to be a senior surgeon and a lecturer at the Ceylon Medical College, he retired in 1935, yet worked as a consultant surgeon and was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1942 and a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George in 1950 for his services for medicine. A life long member of the British Medical Association, he was the president of the Ceylon's Branch from 1940 to 1946.
An avid naturalist, Dr Spittel made many trips to the jungles of Ceylon, gaining much knowledge into the flora and fauna and the aborigines of the island, the veddahs. His studies on the veddahs made him and expert on this little understood people. Based on his studies he authored several books, that gain much fame during his own lifetime. His works included novels, poems and academic studies.
Novels
Poem collections
Medical books
Dr Spittel married a fellow student Claire Van Dort, daughter of one of Ceylon's most distinguished physicians, Dr W G Van Dort and they had two daughters.