LEWIS, Frederick. 1836? — 1930?. Britishman in Sri Lanka. Among stray sources in Internet, one claims he was born in Manchester 1836 and went to Ceylon after 1861, another (www.shakariconnection.com/ceylon-hunting-books.html) that he was born there of English parents and became a tea and rubber planter. Once he is called Assistant…
LE MESURIER, Cecil John Reginald. Cephalonia, Ionian Islands 7.2.1855? — 11.2.1932. British Colonial Civil Servant in Sri Lanka. Son of Cecil Brooke Le M. (1831–1913), an officer, and his Greek wife Nicolina, Contessa Zancarol (1839–1921, married 1854). In 1881 already in Ceylon. In 1896 dismissed from service on ground of…
LEE, Lionel Frederic. Colombo 3/4.12.1845 — Colombo 4.12.1899. Hon. British Civil Servant in Sri Lanka. Son of George Lee, Postmaster-General of Ceylon, and Martha Austin. Educated at Elizabeth College in Guernsey (1861-63). Joined I.C.S. in 1864. In 1869 Assistant Government Agent, in 1881 Registrar-General, in 1887 short time Mayor of…
KNOX, Robert. London 8.2.1641 — Wimbledon, London 19.6.1720. British (Scottish) Traveller. In South Asia in 1657-94 (1659-79 prisoner in Ceylon). Son of Robert Knox, a Puritan and commander in E.I.C.’s service. Grew up in Wimbledon, Surrey. After mother’s death sailed with his father in January 1657 to Fort George. On…
KILIAN, Klaus. Karlsruhe 27.2.1939 — Bonn 28.5.1992. German Archaeologist, excavated in Sri Lanka. Ph.D. Director of the “Kommission für Allgemeine und Vergleichende Archäologie (KAVA) des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts (DAI)” in Bonn. In 1976-82 led excavations at Tiryns and from 1987 in Sri Lanka in cooperation with S. Bandaranayake and the…
HOCART, Arthur Maurice. Etterbeek near Brussels, Belgium 26.4.1883 — Cairo 9.3.1939. British scholar of Sri Lankan Archaeology and Ethnology. Son of James H., a Protestan missionary in Belgium, and Mary Mathieson Doulton (1850–1890), educated in Brussels and Guernsey, where the family originated. Graduated 1906 from Oxford (Exeter College) in classics,…
JOHNSTON, Alexander. Carnsalloch, Dumfriesshire 25.4.1775 — London 6.3.1849. Sir. British (Scottish) Civil Servant in Sri Lanka. Son of Samuel J. and Hester Napier. Grew up in Madurai, where his father served as official and where Chr. Fr. Schwarz was his teacher. Learned Tamil, Telugu and Hindustani. In 1792 the family…
IEVERS, Robert Wilson. Limerick 1850 (or 1851) — Ireland 10.2.1905. British (Irish) Civil Servant in Sri Lanka. Son of Robert John I., a wine merchant, and Elizabeth Browne. Educated at Queen’s University, Belfast (M.A.). Entered Ceylon Civil Service in 1872, worked in various positions mainly in the north-west, living in…
HARINGTON, John Herbert. Woodford, Witshire 12.3.1765 — London 9.4.1828. British Civil Servant and Oriental Scholar in India. In India 1780-1819 & 1822-28. Son of Rev. John H. and Rachel Hawes (d. 1782). Came to India in 1780 as a Writer of E.I.C. in Calcutta, 1781 Assistant in Revenue Department, from…
HARDY, Robert Spence. Preston, Lancashire 1.7.1803 — Headingley near Leeds 16.4.1868. Rev. British Methodist Missionary in Sri Lanka. Son of John Hardy and Ann Spence. From 1819 printer in York, in 1825 ordained as Wesleyan minister and left for the first time as missionary to Ceylon where he worked three…