Samuel Ariaretnam Sabapathy (8 September 1898 – 12 February 1964 ) 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 and the first

Mayor of Jaffna The Mayor of Jaffna is the head of the Jaffna Municipal Council, the local authority for the city of Jaffna in northern Sri Lanka. Mayors and chairmen Notes References * Sources * {{List of mayors in Sri Lanka Jaffna Jaffna ...

Early life and family

Sabapathy was born on 8 September 1898. He was the son of Kanagasabapathipillai from Varany and Annammah. His brother

S. Kulendran The Right Reverend Sabapathy Kulendran (23 September 1900 – 14 February 1992) was a Ceylon Tamil priest and the Church of South India Bishop of Jaffna. Early life Kulendran was born on 23 September 1900. He was the son of Sabapathy, a no ...

was

Bishop of Jaffna A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop i ...

. Sabapathy was educated at

St. John's College, Jaffna '' , motto_translation = Light Shines in the Darkness , location = , streetaddress = Main Street, Chundikuli , region = , city = Jaffna, Jaffna District , state = , p ...

where he was head prefect, captain of the cricket team and member of the football team. Sabapathy married Kanakeswary, daughter of Nagalingam from Tholpuram. They had a daughter (Padmini).

Career

Sabapathy joined the legal profession after finishing his education, becoming a proctor specialising in criminal law. He practised law in

Jaffna Jaffna (, ) is the capital city of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a peninsula of the same name. With a population of 88,138 in 2012, Jaffna is Sri Lanka's 12th mos ...

. Sabapathy was elected to

Jaffna Urban Council Jaffna Municipal Council ( ta, யாழ்ப்பாணம் மாநகர சபை, translit=Yāḻppāṇam Mānakara Capai; JMC) is the local authority for the city of Jaffna in northern Sri Lanka. JMC is responsible for providing a varie ...

, serving as its chairman between 1937 and 1939. Jaffna was given municipality status in 1949 and Sabapathy became the city's first mayor. He is credited with creation of

Jaffna Public Library The Jaffna Library is the second largest public library in Sri Lanka located in Jaffna, Northern Province, Sri Lanka. It was considered the largest library in South Asia in the pre-1980s. Like many great libraries of the world, this library was ...

, Subramaniam Park and Health Centre/Maternity Clinic. Sabapathy laid the foundation stone for the library on 29 March 1953.

Death

Sabapathy died on 12 February 1964.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sabapathy, Sam A. 1898 births 1964 deaths Alumni of St. John's College, Jaffna Ceylonese proctors Mayors of Jaffna Sri Lankan Tamil people Sri Lankan lawyers Tamil politicians