WHITE, Herbert. 25.8.1857 — 19??. Civil Servant in Sri Lanka (from 1879). Acting District Judge of Ratnapura (1884). Also mentioned as Government Agent in Badulla and as the Acting Mayor and Chairman of the Municipal Council of Colombo (1900). Retired before 1919. Publications: Articles on Sinhalese in The Orientalist 1, 1884 and 2,…
WALL, George. North Shields, Northumberland 22.12.1820 — London 16.12.1894. British Merchant, Coffee Planter, Politician, amateur Astronomer, Botanist and Humanitarian in Sri Lanka. Son of George Wall, a Methodist Minister, and Ann Lytham, educated at Harrow. Worked in an engineering firm, in 1846 left for Ceylon because of health problems. Worked…
STRUTT, Edward. Mansfield Woodhouse, Nottinghamshire 1853 — St.Columb, Newquay, Cornwall 1911. Rev. British Wesleyan Missionary in Sri Lanka. Son of master bootmaker G. Strutt and Elizabeth Housley, a pious Wesleyan family. Working in Ceylon at Jaffna (1876-78), Kalmunai (1878), Trincomalee (1879-81) and Colombo (1881-87) concentrating on Tamils. In 1887 returned…
STARK(E), John/James (?). Kirkcudbright 5.5.1798 — 1859. Hon. British (Scottish) Lawyer in Sri Lanka. From 1824 lawyer in Edinburgh. Queen’s Advocate in Ceylon 1838-40, then Puisne Justice of Supreme Court in Colombo (still 1849). The first President of the Ceylon Branch of R.A.S. Married Miss Gibson, two sons. Publications: In JRAS-CB: “On…
SPITTEL, Richard Lionel. Tangalle, Sri Lanka 9.12.1881 — Colombo 3.9.1969. British Physician, Anthropologist and Author in Sri Lanka, a Pioneer of Vedda Research. Son of Dr. Frederick George Sp., of Ceylon Health Service, and Zilla Jansz. After Colombo Royal College and Ceylon Medical College trained in 1906-09 as surgeon in…
SIRR, Henry Charles. 1807 — London 23.11.1872. British (Irish) Lawyer and Diplomat. Son of Henry Charles Sirr, Town Major of Dublin, and Eliza D’Arcy. Graduated from Trinity College, Dublin. Called to bar at Lincoln’s Inn, London. British vice-consul at Hong Kong (1843), then queen’s advocate for the southern circuit of…
PERCIVAL (Perceval), Robert. 1765 — 1826. British Colonial Officer. Joined Irish Infantry in the U.K., as Captain in 1895-97 participated in the conquest of Dutch Capeland. In 1797 to Ceylon, where he remained three years. His both books are said to be full of description of the cruelty and treachery…
PALM, John David (Johann D. P.). Colberg, Pomerania (now Kołobrzeg in Poland) 1775 — Colombo 10.9.1842 (when 66). Rev. German Missionary in Sri Lanka. Began as a weaver, educated in Berlin. Ordained 1802, when 26. Arrived at Ceylon in 1805. Minister of the Dutch Reformed Church in Colombo and Jaffna. He…
OERTEL, Friedrich Oscar Emanuel (from 1921 F. O. Lechmere-Oertel). Hannover 9.12.1862 — New York 22.12.1942. German-born Engineer, Architect and Archaeologist in India. Went to India in 1883 giving up his German citizenship, naturalized as British. In 1883-87 assistant engineer on railway & building construction in North-Western Provinces and Oudh, 1887-88…
NICHOLSON, James. 18?? — 1???. Rev. Wesleyan Missionary in Sri Lanka. Worked in Galle at least from 1867, 1887 still there. Finally retired and married Ellen Osborn. Publications: A Pocket Dictionary of the English and Sinhalese Language. 646 p. 1864, 7th ed. rev. by J. de Silva. 425 p. Colombo 1921.…