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 landed proprietor and politician. He was a member of the Legislative Council of Ceylon.

Hon. AJR de Soysa

Early life and education

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, 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]

Career

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 and in 1911 he became the second member to be appointed to the Low Country Sinhalese seat of the Legislative Council of Ceylon.[5] He was appointed to the 'Salaries Commission of 1912' and paid from his private funds when the government refused to pay wages for the week long railway strike.[6]

De Soysa was a proprietor of the Ceylon Morning Leader newspaper.[7]

Family

On 4 February 1892 he married Mary Margaret 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 1910, he built the stately mansion Lakshmigiri.

References
  1. "Old Photo Archive - Hastings UK Photo Archive". 1066online.co.uk. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
  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.
  6. The rise of the labor movement in Ceylon, Kumari Jayawardena, pp.150, 153-155 (Duke University Press, 1972) ISBN 978-0822302681
  7. A brief history of local and foreign newspapers, KKS Perera (Daily News) Retrieved 25 October 2019
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