Duenuge Disan Pedris was a

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 ...

ese, entrepreneur and mine owner. He was a successful

graphite Graphite () is a crystalline form of the element carbon. It consists of stacked layers of graphene. Graphite occurs naturally and is the most stable form of carbon under standard conditions. Synthetic and natural graphite are consumed on large ...

mine owner and trader. Making his fortune in mining and expanded into other ventures, D. D. Pedris became one of the wealthiest men in the island at the time. The execution of his only son

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Henry Pedris Duenuge Edward Henry Pedris ( si, හෙන්රි පේද්රිස්; 16 August 1888 – 7 July 1915) was a Ceylonese militia officer and a prominent socialite. Pedris was executed for treason by the 17th Punjab Regiment of the British ...

by the British colonial government under

martial law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Marti ...

during the 1915 riots, initiated the movement toward independence and providing motivation and a

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

for those who pioneered the movement. Born in

Galle Galle ( si, ගාල්ල, translit=Gālla; ta, காலி, translit=Kāli) (formerly Point de Galle) is a major city in Sri Lanka, situated on the southwestern tip, from Colombo. Galle is the provincial capital and largest city of Souther ...

, he started his business ventures in 1872 by venturing into graphite mining and later open several mines in Galle, Kaluthara and Aluthgama areas. He later expanded into agriculture, real-estate and trading. A Buddhist, D. D. Pedris was a member of the

Theosophical Society The Theosophical Society, founded in 1875, is a worldwide body with the aim to advance the ideas of Theosophy in continuation of previous Theosophists, especially the Greek and Alexandrian Neo-Platonic philosophers dating back to 3rd century CE ...

. In 1882, he married Mallino Fernando Pedris, daughter of

Peace Officer A law enforcement officer (LEO), or peace officer in North American English, is a public-sector employee whose duties primarily involve the enforcement of laws. The phrase can include campaign disclosure specialists, local police officers, pro ...

Margris Fernando of Karandeniya, they had four daughters and one son. His brother-in-law was N. S. Fernando Wijesekara were leading businessmen of the time. Following the death of his son, Pedris built the

Isipathanaramaya Temple Isipathanaramaya Temple is one of the oldest Buddhist temples in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Located in Havelock Town it was built in 1916 by Duenuge Disan Pedris, a wealthy merchant, in memory of his only son Henry Pedris who was executed by British off ...

Havelock Town Havelock Town is a neighbourhood of Colombo, Sri Lanka, part of an area zoned as ''Colombo 5''. It is located approximately 6 kilometres south of Fort, the central business district of Colombo. Havelock City, a mixed-used development in Havelock ...

in his memory.

External links and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pedris, Duenuge Disan Sri Lankan mining businesspeople Sri Lankan Buddhists Sinhalese businesspeople People of British Ceylon

See also

External links and references