Allen Abraham (1865 – 9 July 1922; born Subramaniar Ambalavanar) 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 Pr ...
academic and astronomer.
Early life and family
Ambalavanar was born in 1865 in
Karainagar
Karainagar ( ta, காரை நகர்) (pronounced Kaarai-Nagar) is located 20 km from Jaffna, Sri Lanka, on the Karaitivu (Island). In Tamil, it means the many karai trees but also means the coast, as derived from the Tamil word 'kad ...
Ceylon
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
. He was the son of Kanthappar Subramaniar and Paravathy. Both of his parents died during the 1876
cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...
epidemic after which he was brought up by his uncle Kanthappar Saravanamuttu. He had some basic education in his home village before being selected to attend the
Aid Training School
Union College ( ta, ஐக்கிய கல்லூரி ''Aikkiya Kallūri''; UC) is a Education in Sri Lanka#Provincial Schools, provincial school in Tellippalai, Sri Lanka. Founded in 1816 by American Ceylon Mission, it is one of Sri Lank ...
in
Tellippalai
Tellippalai or Thellippalai ( ta, தெல்லிப்பழை Tellippaḻai
in December 1881. There he converted to Christianity and took on the name Allen Abraham. He graduated from the school in December 1883 after which he joined
Jaffna College __NOTOC__
Jaffna College is a private school in Vaddukoddai, Sri Lanka. It was founded in 1871 as a successor to the Batticotta Seminary which had been established by American missionaries.
History
In 1816 American missionaries founded the ...
's five year Graduation Course of the Institution. He graduated in 1888 with a first class. Abraham passed the Senior Local in 1886 and the Jaffna St. Patrick's College, Jaffna in 1889.
Abraham married Muthachi, daughter of Suppar Sankarapillai. They had two sons (Kanagasuntharam and Aruliah) and two daughters (Jane Nallamma and Rose Rasamma). Following the death of Muthachi Abraham married Ponniah Thaiyamuthu.
Career
Whilst studying at Jaffna College Abraham was appointed an instructor by the college. After graduating from the college he was appointed lecturer at Tellippalai Training College. In 1891 he rejoined Jaffna College as a professor of
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nati ...
.
Abraham passed the
University of Jaffna
The University of Jaffna ( ta, யாழ்ப்பாணப் பல்கலைக்கழகம், translit=Yāḻppāṇap Palkalaikkaḻakam; si, යාපනය විශ්වවිද්යාලය, ''Yāpanaya Viśvavidyālaya''; ...
's First Arts (FA) in 1893 (incorrect: Jaffna University formed in 1974) and later obtained an external BA degree in
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
, philosophy and mathematics from the university. (Jaffna University was formed in 1974, this is incorrect) He was appointed professor of mathematics by Jaffna College. At Jaffna College Abraham taught mathematics and astronomy for the University of Jaffna's FA and BA examinations. He resigned from the college when Rev. Brown, principal of the college, left in 1914. He re-joined the college when Rev. Bicknell was appointed principal.
Astronomy had been a hobby of Abraham's throughout his life. He wrote several articles on the subject for the ''Morning Star'', Jaffna College Miscellany and the
Royal Astronomical Society
(Whatever shines should be observed)
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. He correctly calculated that
Halley's Comet
Halley's Comet or Comet Halley, officially designated 1P/Halley, is a short-period comet visible from Earth every 75–79 years. Halley is the only known short-period comet that is regularly visible to the naked eye from Earth, and thus the o ...
would be closest to the Earth on 19 May 1910 between 9am and 10am and that it would not hit the Earth as it would enter the orbit of Venus, retarding its path. (there is no evidence in these citations). He was elected fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society on 12 January 1912 for this work, having been proposed by proposed by A. V. Jugga Row in 1911. He was the first native Ceylonese to be made a fellow of the society.
Asides from astronomy, Abraham was interested in music, Tamil literature, agriculture and social work. Eight lyrics written by Abraham are still used as hymns by the
Jaffna Diocese of the Church of South India
The Jaffna Diocese is the Church of South India diocese for northern Sri Lanka. The current bishop (known as the Bishop of Jaffna or the Bishop of the Church of South India in the Jaffna Diocese) is Daniel Thiagarajah.
History
The Church of South ...
. He was secretary of the Jaffna Council of the South United Church from 1915 till his death. He served as editor of the ''Morning Star'' from 1897 to 1909.
Abraham was admitted to hospital in June 1922 with an ulcer on a toe. He died on 9 July 1922.