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Louis Corneille Wijesinghe
Mudaliyar Louis Corneille Wijesinha (19 September 1834 - 25 March 1895) was a Ceylonese British colonial-era headmen and a Pali scholar. He was born in Panadura to Reverend Cornelius Wijesinha, the first Ceylonese Wesleyan Methodist Minister. He was educated at the Colombo Academy, leaving school at age 15 for a career in the Wesleyan Mission of Ceylon under the tutelage of Dr. Hill, Dr. Kessen and Rev. Dr. Gogerly. He studied Sinhala and Pali under the oriental scholars Pundit Batuwantudawe and Pundit Tudave. He was admitted to the Wesleyan Mission as a probationary minister, serving in Moratuwa, Dondra and Matara before leaving the mission. He joined Government Service in 1864, serving as a Kachcheri Mudaliyar in Ratnapura and Nuwara Eliya; and then a Court Interpreter Mudaliyar at Matale and Matara. His exposure of the oppression of tenants of various devales and nindagamas in the Kandian provinces led to the Service Tenures Ordinance. On the invitation of Sir Arthur Gordon, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ceylonese Mudaliyars
Mudaliyar (or Mudali) was a Ceylonese colonial title during Portuguese and British rule of the island. Stemming from the native headman system, the title was usually hereditary, made to wealthy influential families loyal to the British Crown. First used by Sinhalese kings and reigning princes from the Polonnaruwa period forward to ennoble subjects, the Portuguese from 17th century onwards, followed by the Dutch and British continued use of the Mudaliyar title. The British use differed slightly in that they re-established a Mudaliyar class, at the behest of the Governor of Ceylon, with appointments that had the title of Mudali. This process was stopped in the 1930s when the Native Department of the British government of Ceylon was closed down. The members of this group formed a unique social group called the Sri Lankan Mudaliyars and associated with older Radala caste. At present, the post of Court Mudliar remain in function in Sri Lankan courts. History Mudaliyar is a Tamil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Turnour
George Turnour Jnr, CCS (1799–1843) was a British colonial administrator, scholar and a historian. A member of the Ceylon Civil Service, he served as a Government Agent, Assistant Colonial Secretary and Treasurer of the Colony. He is known for his translation of the Mahavamsa, the Great Chronicle of Sri Lankan history which was published in 1837. Along with James Prinsep and Captain Edward Smith, he began to decipher the inscriptions on the first discovered Pillar of Ashoka. Early life Born in Ceylon on 11 March 1799, his father was the Honorable George Turnour Snr, the son of the British politician Edward Garth-Turnour, 1st Earl Winterton. George Turnour Snr came to India joining the Bengal Native Infantry as an ensign. He landed in Ceylon in 1783 with the 73rd Regiment. In 1795, he was appointed Fort Adjutant of the Jaffna Fort and later made Commandant of the Mannar Fort in 1797. He married Emilie de Beaussett, niece of Cardinal Duc de Beaussett. In 1799, Lieutenant T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
People From British Ceylon
The term "the people" refers to the public or common mass of people of a polity. As such it is a concept of human rights law, international law as well as constitutional law, particularly used for claims of popular sovereignty. In contrast, a people is any plurality of persons considered as a whole. Used in politics and law, the term "a people" refers to the collective or community of an ethnic group or nation. Concepts Legal Chapter One, Article One of the Charter of the United Nations states that "peoples" have the right to self-determination. Though the mere status as peoples and the right to self-determination, as for example in the case of Indigenous peoples (''peoples'', as in all groups of indigenous people, not merely all indigenous persons as in ''indigenous people''), does not automatically provide for independent sovereignty and therefore secession. Indeed, judge Ivor Jennings identified the inherent problems in the right of "peoples" to self-determination, as i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sri Lankan Writers
Shri (; , ) is a Sanskrit term denoting resplendence, wealth and prosperity, primarily used as an honorific. The word is widely used in South and Southeast Asian languages such as Assamese, Meitei ( Manipuri), Marathi, Malay (including Indonesian and Malaysian), Javanese, Balinese, Sundanese, Sinhalese, Thai, Tamil, Telugu, Odia, Assamese, Punjabi, Hindi, Bengali, Nepali, Malayalam, Kannada, Sanskrit, Pali, Khmer, and also among Philippine languages. It is usually transliterated as ''Sri'', ''Sree'', ''Shri'', ''Shiri'', ''Shree'', ''Si'', or ''Seri'' based on the local convention for transliteration. In Tamil it evolved to Tiru. The term is used in Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia as a polite form of address equivalent to the English "Mr." in written and spoken language. "Shri" is also used as a title of veneration for deities or as honorific title for individuals. "Shri" is also an epithet for Hindu goddess Lakshmi, while a ''yantra'' or a mystical diagra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mudaliyars Of Ceylon
Thuluva Vellalar, also known as Agamudi Mudaliar or Arcot Mudaliars, is a caste found in northern Tamil Nadu, southern Andhra Pradesh and southern Karnataka. They were an elite and dominant land-owning community. Etymology The earliest occurrence of the term Velaalar (வேளாளர்) in Sangam literature is found in Paripadal, where it is used in the sense of a landowner. The word Vellalar (வெள்ளாளர்) may originate from the root Vellam for flood, denoting their ability to control and store water for irrigation purposes. which led to the development of various land rights, ultimately giving the Vellalar their name. The term Velaalar (வேளாளர்) is also derived from the word Vel (வேள்), a title used by Velir chieftains during the Sangam age. Since they migrated from the Tulu region of ancient Tamizhagam, they are called Thuluva Vellalar. History Thuluva Vellalars are part of larger Vellalar community. An early Tamil tradition sta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alumni Of Royal College, Colombo
Alumni (: alumnus () or alumna ()) are former students or graduates of a school, college, or university. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for groups of women, and alums (: alum) or alumns (: alumn) as gender-neutral alternatives. The word comes from Latin, meaning nurslings, pupils or foster children, derived from "to nourish". The term is not synonymous with "graduates": people can be alumni without graduating, e.g. Burt Reynolds was an alumnus of Florida State University but did not graduate. The term is sometimes used to refer to former employees, former members of an organization, former contributors, or former inmates. Etymology The Latin noun means "foster son" or "pupil". It is derived from the Latin verb "to nourish". Separate, but from the same root, is the adjective "nourishing", found in the phrase '' alma mater'', a title for a person's home university. Usage in Roman law In Latin, is a legal term (Roman law) to describe a child placed in foste ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1895 Deaths
Events January * January 5 – Dreyfus affair: French officer Alfred Dreyfus is stripped of his army rank and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil's Island (off French Guiana) on what is much later admitted to be a false charge of treason. * January 6 – The Wilcox rebellion, an attempt led by Robert Wilcox to overthrow the Republic of Hawaii and restore the Kingdom of Hawaii, begins with royalist troops landing at Waikiki Beach in O'ahu and clashing with republican defenders. The rebellion ends after three days and the remaining 190 royalists are taken prisoners of war. * January 12 – Britain's National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty is founded by Octavia Hill, Robert Hunter and Canon Hardwicke Rawnsley. * January 13 – First Italo-Ethiopian War: Battle of Coatit – Italian forces defeat the Ethiopians. * January 15 – A warehouse fire and dynamite explosion kills 57 people, including 13 firefighters in B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1834 Births
Events January–March * January 1 – Zollverein (Germany): Customs charges are abolished at borders within its member states. * January 3 – The government of Mexico imprisons Stephen F. Austin in Mexico City. * January – The Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad is chartered in Wilmington, North Carolina. * February 3 – Wake Forest University is founded as the Wake Forest Manual Labor Institute in Wake Forest, North Carolina. * February 12 – Freed American slaves from Maryland form a settlement in Cape Palmas, it is named the Republic of Maryland. * February 13 – Robert Owen organizes the Grand National Consolidated Trades Union in the United Kingdom. * March 6 – York, Upper Canada, is incorporated as Toronto. * March 11 – The United States Survey of the Coast is transferred to the Department of the Navy. * March 14 – John Herschel discovers the open cluster of stars now known as NGC 3603, observing from the Cape of Good Hope. * March 28 – Andrew J ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buddhist Theosophical Society
Colonel Henry Steel Olcott (2 August 1832 – 17 February 1907) was an American military officer, journalist, lawyer, Freemason (member of Huguenot Lodge #448, now #46) and the co-founder and first president of the Theosophical Society. Olcott was the first well-known American of European ancestry to make a formal conversion to Buddhism. His subsequent actions as president of the Theosophical Society helped create a renaissance in the study of Buddhism. Olcott is considered a Buddhist modernist for his efforts in interpreting Buddhism through a Europeanized lens. Olcott was a major revivalist of Buddhism in Sri Lanka and he is still honored in Sri Lanka for these efforts. Vice President of the Ananda College Old Boys Association Samitha Seneviratne has said that "Col. Olcott's contribution towards the betterment of our country, nation, religion, justice and good conduct has been so great that he remains in our hearts forever". Biography Olcott was born on 2 August 1832 in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wilhelm Geiger
Wilhelm Ludwig Geiger (; ; 21 July 1856 – 2 September 1943) was a German Orientalist in the fields of Indo-Iranian languages and the history of Iran and Sri Lanka. He was known as a specialist in Pali, Sinhala language and the Dhivehi language of the Maldives. He is especially known for his work on the Sri Lankan chronicles Mahāvaṃsa and Cūlavaṃsa and made critical editions of the Pali text and English translations with the help of assistant translators. Life He was born in Nuremberg, the son of an evangelical clergyman, and was educated especially at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg under the scholar Friedrich von Spiegel. During his studies, he joined the fraternity Uttenruthia. After completing his Ph.D. thesis in 1878, he became a lecturer on ancient Iranian and Indian philology and then a master at a gymnasium. In 1891 he was offered a chair in Indo-European Comparative Philology at the University of Erlangen, succeeding Spiegel. His first published works w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
