2nd President of Singapore
Personal Details
Born 12 August 1907, Singapore
Died 12 may 1981, Singapore
Resting Place: Kranji State Cemetery
Nationality: Singaporean
Occupation: Physician
Religion: Cristian
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Family
Father: Edwin H. Sheares
Mother: Lilian J. Gomes
Wife: Yeo Seh Geok
Daughter: Constance Alice Cheng Liu
Sons: Dr. Joseph Henry Hing Gian and Edwin Charles Hing Wee
Early Life
Sheares had a close relationship with his sister Alice and often loved to play doctor with her. There was once when he made Alice swallow a one-cent coin as a medical “pill” in their game. Benjamin was six years old then and received a good hiding from his mother Lilian. Throughout his growing years, Benjamin showed ambition to become a doctor - a dream deemed almost impossible for someone who was Asian and came from a poor family in the early colonial days of Singapore. However, Alice continued to spirit him on with that dream, against his mother's wishes for her son to take up a job as a clerk and start helping out with the family bills as soon as he completed his Senior Cambridge Examinations
Sheares' early education was at established institutions such as the Methodist Girls' School, St Andrew's School and the Raffles Institution. In 1923, he was accepted into theKing Edward VII College of Medicine in Singapore and was conferred the L.M.S. in March 1929.
Career
Medical Career
Sheares first distinguished himself in the field of obstetrics and gynaecology (O&G), obtaining several firsts for Singapore in this field. He was the first Singaporean to specialise in O&G; the first local to be appointed Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of Malaya in Singapore, a post usually reserved for colonials; and the first medical practitioner in Singapore to use the lower segment method of performing Caesarean sections. He was a pioneer for this gynaecological procedure, which was named after him, and became internationally recognised after he published a paper on it in 1960. Despite criticism from his peers, he was a strong advocator of voluntary sterilisation and family planning.
He began his career in Obstetrician and Gynaecology (O&G) in April 1931 after serving two years at the Sepoy Lines General Hospital. He was awarded the Queen's Fellowship in 1940, a two-year postgraduate scholarship in Britain. but had to postpone this owing to the outbreak of World War II. During the Japanese Occupation, he continued to distinguish himself as a gynaecologist becoming head of Kandang Kerbau's (now KK Hospital's), Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. After the war years, the King Edward VII College of Medicine appointed him as acting Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. He was also active in the Family Planning Association.
Political Career
Sheares was made President a mere two months after Yusof Ishak's death. He maintained a humble life, despite his new position, returning to his home daily at Holt Road for lunch and dinner. He refused a higher salary for his role and took six months to agree to his third term as President in 1978. During the tenth year of his presidency, Sheares collapsedand fell into coma for five days before passing away. The popular president had 85,000 people turned up at the Istana to pay their last respects.
Other Info
He is known as Singapore's father of modern obstetrics and gynaecology. He lends his name to several landmarks and buildings including the Benjamin Sheares Bridge, Singapore's longest bridge, and the Sheares Hall, a National University hostel.
Awards
1964 : Honourable Order of the Life of the Crown of Kelantan (DJMK).
1967 : the Kedah Order of Chivalry 2nd Class (DPMK).
1970 : Litt.D. (honris causa) (University of Singapore).
1972 : GCB (United Kingdom).
1974 : Star of the Republic of Indonesia Adipurna.
1975 : Honorary Fellow, Royal Society of Medicine.
1976 : Ancient Order of Sikatuna (Raja) (Republic of the Philippines).
1976 : Honorary fellow, Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecologists.
1971 : Honorary Life membership of the SRC.
In recognition for his contributions as personal obstetrician and gynaecologist to some Malaysian royal families, he was made a Dato of Kedah and of Kelantan.
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