Professor Chandra Richard de Silva is a

Sri Lanka 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 ...

n academic, historian and author. A lecturer of history at the

Old Dominion University Old Dominion University (Old Dominion or ODU) is a public research university in Norfolk, Virginia. It was established in 1930 as the Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary and is now one of the largest universities in Virginia with ...

, de Silva has written a number of books on Sri Lankan history.

Early life and family

After his secondary education at St. Peter's College, Bambalapitiya, Chandra De Silva was educated at the

University of Ceylon The University of Ceylon was the only university in Sri Lanka (earlier Ceylon) from 1942 until 1972. It had several constituent campuses at various locations around Sri Lanka. The University of Ceylon Act No. 1 of 1972, replaced it with the Univer ...

from where he received a BA degree in history in 1962. He received a

Ph.D A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...

degree in 1968 from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

Career

De Silva started teaching at the

University of Ceylon, Peradeniya The University of Ceylon was the only university in Sri Lanka (earlier Ceylon) from 1942 until 1972. It had several constituent campuses at various locations around Sri Lanka. The University of Ceylon Act No. 1 of 1972, replaced it with the Univ ...

in 1963. He was dean of the

Faculty of Arts, University of Peradeniya Faculty of Arts, University of Peradeniya is the largest single faculty in the entire university system of Sri Lanka. Location Faculty of Arts is located approximately in the middle of the university's main campus. Faculty is about two kilo ...

from 1978 to 1981. He became a professor of history at the university in 1984. He was

visiting professor In academia, a visiting scholar, visiting researcher, visiting fellow, visiting lecturer, or visiting professor is a scholar from an institution who visits a host university to teach, lecture, or perform research on a topic for which the visitor ...

of history and Asian studies at

Bowdoin College Bowdoin College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. When Bowdoin was chartered in 1794, Maine was still a part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The college offers 34 majors and 36 minors, as well as several joint eng ...

between 1989 and 1991. He was chair of history at

Indiana State University Indiana State University (ISU) is a public university in Terre Haute, Indiana. It was founded in 1865 and offers over 100 undergraduate majors and more than 75 graduate and professional programs. Indiana State is classified among "D/PU: Doctor ...

between 1991 and 1998. He joined the

in 1998 as its chair of history. He became dean of the university's College of Arts and Letters in June 2003. He is currently vice provost for faculty and program development at the university. De Silva was awarded a Diplome de Langue Francaise from the Alliance Francaise de Paris in 1987.

Works

De Silva has written the following books. * ''The Portuguese in Ceylon'' 1617-1683 (1972, Cave) * ''Sri Lanka: A History'' (1997, Vikas) * ''Portuguese Encounters with Sri Lanka and the Maldives: Translated Texts from the Age of the Discoveries'' (2009, Ashgate)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:de Silva, Chandra Academic staff of the University of Ceylon (Peradeniya) Academic staff of the University of Peradeniya Academic staff of the University of Sri Lanka (Peradeniya) Alumni of the University of Ceylon Alumni of the University of London Bowdoin College faculty Indiana State University faculty Living people Old Dominion University faculty Writers from Norfolk, Virginia 20th-century Sri Lankan historians Sinhalese historians 21st-century Sri Lankan historians Year of birth missing (living people) Historians of Sri Lanka