Sir Muthu Coomaraswamy ( ta, முத்து குமாரசுவாமி; 23 January 1834 – 4 May 1879) was a

Ceylon Tamil Sri Lankan Tamils ( or ), also known as Ceylon Tamils or Eelam Tamils, are Tamils native to the South Asian island state of Sri Lanka. Today, they constitute a majority in the Northern Province, live in significant numbers in the Eastern Pro ...

lawyer, writer and member of the

Legislative Council of Ceylon The Legislative Council of Ceylon was the legislative body of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) established in 1833, along with the Executive Council of Ceylon, on the recommendations of the Colebrooke-Cameron Commission. It was the first form of represen ...

Early life and family

Coomaraswamy was born on 23 January 1834 in Amaittodam, Mutwal in south western

Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. He was the son of Gate Mudaliyar

A. Coomaraswamy Arumugampillai Coomaraswamy ( ta, ஆறுமுகம்பிள்ளை குமாரசுவாமி; 1783 – 7 November 1836) was a Ceylon Tamil member of the Legislative Council of Ceylon. Early life and family Coomaraswamy was ...

and Visalachchi Ammaiyar. From 1842 to 1851 he was educated at

Colombo Academy Royal College, Colombo is a selective entry boys' school located in Cinnamon Gardens, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Started as a private school by Rev Joseph Marsh in 1835, it was established as the Colombo Academy by Sir Robert Wilmot-Horton in Janua ...

where he won the

Turnour Prize Royal College, Colombo is a selective entry boys' school located in Cinnamon Gardens, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Started as a private school by Rev Joseph Marsh in 1835, it was established as the Colombo Academy by Sir Robert Wilmot-Horton in Janua ...

in 1851. Coomaraswamy married Elizabeth Clay Beebe, daughter of William Beebe from

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, in 1878. They had a son,

Ananda Coomaraswamy Ananda Kentish Muthu Coomaraswamy ( ta, ஆனந்த குமாரசுவாமி, ''Ānanda Kentiś Muthū Kumāraswāmī''; si, ආනන්ද කුමාරස්වාමි ''Ānanda Kumārasvāmī''; 22 August 1877 − 9 Septem ...

, the eminent art critic.

Career

After finishing school Coomaraswamy joined the

Ceylon Civil Service The Ceylon Civil Service, popularly known by its acronym CCS, was the premier civil service of the Government of Ceylon under British colonial rule and in the immediate post-independence period. Established in 1833, it functioned as part of the ...

as a cadet at the Colombo

Kachcheri A kachcheri or district secretariat is the principal government department that administrates a district in Sri Lanka. Each of the 25 districts has a kachcheri. The main tasks of the District Secretariat involve coordinating communications and ac ...

. He was appointed police

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a ''magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

and was known as the "boy magistrate". He resigned from the civil service after a short period. He joined the legal profession as an apprentice under Richard Morgan. He was called to the bar at the age of 22. Coomaraswamy was appointed to the

in 1862 as the unofficial member representing Tamils, replacing

V. Edirmannasingham ''V.'' is the debut novel of Thomas Pynchon, published in 1963. It describes the exploits of a discharged U.S. Navy sailor named Benny Profane, his reconnection in New York with a group of pseudo- bohemian artists and hangers-on known as the Wh ...

. He served on the Legislative Council until his death in 1879. He was a member of

Colombo Municipal Council The Colombo Municipal Council is the municipal governing body of Colombo, the largest city and financial centre in Sri Lanka. It consists of a directly elected executive Mayor of Colombo, current elect is Rosy Senanayake, and 119 elected 119 mun ...

from March 1868 to February 1873. Coomaraswamy went on a tour of Europe in 1862 during which he was admitted as a member of Lincoln's Inn on 10 July 1862, the first non-Christian/Jew to be done so. He practised law in London. His English translation of the Tamil play Harischandra (Martyr of Truth) was published in 1863. Coomaraswamy took on the leading role when the play was performed in front of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...

on 8 December 1863. He was elected an honorary member of the

Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...

and was a fellow of the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

and the

Geological Society of London The Geological Society of London, known commonly as the Geological Society, is a learned society based in the United Kingdom. It is the oldest national geological society in the world and the largest in Europe with more than 12,000 Fellows. Fe ...

. He was also a member of the Athenaeum Club. After returning to Ceylon Coomaraswamy resumed practising law at the Colombo Bar. He undertook research into oriental folklore before going on a tour of India. His translation of the

Pali Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist '' Pāli Canon'' or '' Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of '' Theravāda'' Bud ...

text Datavamsa, the story of the Sacred Tooth Relic, and Sutti Nipaata, the discourses of the Buddha, were published in 1874. In 1878 Coomaraswamy became the first Asian knight after being made a knight of the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in hono ...

by Queen Victoria at

Osborne House Osborne House is a former royal residence in East Cowes, Isle of Wight, United Kingdom. The house was built between 1845 and 1851 for Queen Victoria and Albert, Prince Consort, Prince Albert as a summer home and rural retreat. Albert designed ...

. He died on 4 May 1879 of

Bright's disease Bright's disease is a historical classification of kidney diseases that are described in modern medicine as acute or chronic nephritis. It was characterized by swelling and the presence of albumin in the urine, and was frequently accompanie ...

whilst preparing for another tour of England.

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Coomaraswamy, Muthu 1834 births 1879 deaths Alumni of Royal College, Colombo Ceylonese Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Colombo municipal councillors Muthu Fellows of the Geological Society of London Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society Members of the Legislative Council of Ceylon Members of Lincoln's Inn People from Colombo People of British Ceylon Sri Lankan Tamil civil servants Sri Lankan Tamil lawyers Sri Lankan Tamil politicians Sri Lankan Tamil writers