Did you know that Sir Albert Cook arrived in Uganda in 1896?

INDEPENDENCE HISTORY

Sir Albert Cook arrived in Uganda in 1896 and went on to build the first hospital in the country and to train the first Ugandan medical practitioners.

Although there were other doctors who had travelled to Uganda, they were only reserved for the colonialists.

Therefore, Cook was the first colonial doctor to treat natives.

Three months after his arrival, Cook set up his hospital in a grass-thatched, reed-walled structure, with 12 wooden beds and straw for mattresses. 

He named it Mengo Hospital, after the Kabaka's royal enclosure nearby. From the time they arrived, Albert Cook and his wife lived in Uganda the rest of their lives. 

Lady Katherine Cook died and was buried in the country in 1938, while Sir Albert Cook died in 1951 and was also buried in Uganda.

Their place as the patrons of modern medicine in the country is well-preserved.

Today, the Albert Cook Hospital is an urban community hospital with all the amenities of a modern hospital in the sub- Saharan Africa.

Kabaka Daudi Chwa was born under Dr Albert Cook's watchful eye at Mengo Hospital.