Sir Chittampalam Abraham Gardiner (6 January 1899 – December 1960) 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 ...

businessman and member of the

Senate of Ceylon The Senate was the upper chamber of the parliament of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) established in 1947 by the Soulbury Commission. The Senate was appointed and indirectly elected rather than directly elected. It was housed in the old Legislative Coun ...

Early life and family

Gardiner was born on 6 January 1899. He was the son of Samuel Vairamuttu Gardiner and Salomapillai Bastiampillai. The Gardiner family were originally from Achchuvely and

Manipay Manipay or Maanippaai ( ta, மானிப்பாய்) is an affluent town in the northern Jaffna District of Sri Lanka. The original name of Manipay is Periyapulam. It was a mission location when the American Ceylon Mission (ACM) came to ...

in northern Ceylon but later moved to

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo m ...

. Gardiner married Angeline Casie Chetty, daughter of Aloysius Mount Carmel Casie Chetty. They had an adopted son, Cyril Aloysius.

Career

Gardiner studied law before entering business. He pioneered the cinema business in Ceylon and established The Ceylon Theatres Limited, which is now one of Sri Lanka's largest conglomerates, on 29 September 1928. He controlled several leading businesses in Colombo and had interests in others including Cargills and Millers. Gardiner was made a Knight of St. Sylvester in 1947 for his services to the Roman Catholic Church. He was also a Knight of St. Gregory. He was appointed to the

in 1947. He was knighted in the 1951 New Year Honours. Gardiner was a

Rotarian Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. Its stated mission is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through hefellowship of business, prof ...

and made a number of large charitable endowments. He was a keen horse owner, his horse won the Governor's Cup in 1947. He died in December 1960. Parson's Road, the site of Regal Theatre, Ceylon Theatres' first cinema, was renamed Sir Chittampalam A. Gardiner Mawatha.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gardiner, Chittampalam Abraham 1899 births 1960 deaths Ceylonese Knights Bachelor Knights of St. Gregory the Great Knights of the Order of St. Sylvester Members of the Senate of Ceylon People from Colombo People from British Ceylon Sri Lankan Tamil businesspeople Tamil politicians