By Uditha Devapriya
The Dornhorst Memorial Prize, the most sought after accolade at Royal College, is, curiously enough, named after an old boy who didn’t win a single award there.
Born in 1849, Frederick Dornhorst served as a Master at his school before embarking on a career as an Advocate and, later, a King’s Counsel. As a member of the middle-class Burgher elite, he was very much a product of his time.
In keeping with the custom of his milieu, Dornhorst gave back what he could to his school, at every possible opportunity. In 1922 he became the donor of the Lower School’s Reading Prize. A much bigger contribution followed his death six years later, when he left behind a legacy of Rs 2,500 – around three million today – “at the disposal of the Principal, for the award of an annual prize.” This was the Dornhorst Prize for General Merit, which, we are told, replaced an earlier award, the de Heer Memorial Prize.