A. J. R. de Soysa

Alfred Joseph Richard de Soysa, also known as A. J. R. de Soysa (15 February 1869 - 1939) was a Ceylonese planter, businessman and politician.

Biography

He was the second of eight sons of Sir Charles Henry de Soysa and Lady Catherine de Soysa. He was born at Brodie House, Bambalapitya and educated at S. Thomas' College (1878), Prince of Wales' College and Royal College and completed his education at Highbury House School[1] St Leonards-on-Sea, where he excelled as a sprinter and pursued a degree in music at Trinity Hall, Cambridge.[2][3][4]

Following his father's unexpected death in August 1890 de Soysa returned to Ceylon to manage his father's extensive tea, rubber and coconut estates. In 1898 he was appointed to the Colombo Harbor Board. On 4 February 1892 he married Mary Margaret (née de Silva).[2] In 1893 he built the Chevaliar Jusey de Silva ward at the Lady Ridgeway Hospital for Children and in 1913 inaugurated the Ceylon School for the Deaf and Blind, Ratmalana.

In 1911 he became the second member to be appointed to the Low Country Sinhalese seat of the Legislative Council of Ceylon.[5]

He died in 1939.

References

  1. ↑ "Old Photo Archive - Hastings UK Photo Archive". 1066online.co.uk. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
  2. 1 2 Twentieth Century Impressions of Ceylon, by Arnold Wright, p.543 (Lloyd's Greater Britain Publishing Company) ISBN 978-8120613355
  3. ↑ The splendour of an Italian villa by Shabna Cader (Ceylon Today Features)
  4. ↑ de Silva, Niranjan. "A Tribute to my Father : Dr. Kingsley de Silva Deva Aditya on his 100th Birth Anniversary". The Island. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
  5. ↑ "Appointments" (PDF). London Gazette. 5 March 1912. p. 1659. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
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