Fredrick Richard Senanayake (known to as F. R. Senanayake) (October 20, 1882 – January 1, 1926) was a Ceylonesen lawyer and independence activist. A leading member of the

Sri Lankan independence movement The Sri Lankan independence movement was a peaceful political movement which was aimed at achieving independence and self-rule for the country of Sri Lanka, then British Ceylon, from the British Empire. The switch of powers was generally kno ...

, he was an elected member of the Colombo Municipal Council. He was the principal supporter of the early political career of his younger brother

D. S. Senanayake Don Stephen Senanayake ( si, දොන් ස්ටීවන් සේනානායක,; ta, டி. எஸ். சேனநாயக்கா; 21 October 1884 – 22 March 1952) was a Ceylonese statesman. He was the first Prime Mi ...

, who would go on to lead Sri Lanka's independence movement, becoming the first Prime Minister of independent Sri Lanka in 1947.

Early life and education

He was born in the village of Botale in the Hapitigam Korale on October 20, 1882, to Don Spater Senanayake (1847–1907) and Dona Catherina Elizabeth Perera Gunasekera Senanayake (1852–1949). Spater Senanayake had made his fortune in graphite mining and at the time he was expanding into plantations and investments in the arrack renting franchise, later he would be awarded the title of Mudaliyar for his philanthropy. F. R. Senanayake had an elder brother, Don Charles "D. C." Senanayake; a younger brother

Don Stephen Senanayake Don Stephen Senanayake ( si, දොන් ස්ටීවන් සේනානායක,; ta, டி. எஸ். சேனநாயக்கா; 21 October 1884 – 22 March 1952) was a Ceylonese statesman. He was the first Prime Min ...

and one sister, Maria Frances Senanayake who married F. H. Dias Bandaranaike.Nobodies to Somebodies: The Rise of the Colonial Bourgeoisie in Sri Lanka
Kumari Jayawardena, pp. 192-3 & 267 (Zed) Educated at

S. Thomas' College, Mutwal , motto_translation = Be Thou Forever , song = Thomian Song , athletics = Yes , sports = Yes , nickname = Thora , denomination = Anglican , patron ...

Royal College, Colombo Royal College, Colombo is a selective entry boys' school located in Cinnamon Gardens, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Started as a private school by Rev Joseph Marsh in 1835, it was established as the Colombo Academy by Sir Robert Wilmot-Horton in Janua ...

and

Downing College, Cambridge Downing College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge and currently has around 650 students. Founded in 1800, it was the only college to be added to Cambridge University between 1596 and 1869, and is often described as the olde ...

, where he gained a BA and an LL.B. degree. Thereafter he became a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

from the

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

, London in 1905.

Law and business

On his return to Ceylon, he took oath as an

Advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. However, ...

in the Supreme Court of Ceylon and started a

legal practice Legal practice is sometimes used to distinguish the body of judicial or administrative precedents, rules, policies, customs, and doctrines from legislative enactments such as statutes and constitutions which might be called "laws" in the strict s ...

in the criminal courts. Soon becoming disenchanted with the legal profession, he focused on his family plantation and mining business. These were expanded to the holding of his wife's family after his marriage.

Community leader

Colombo Municipal Council

An active social worker, F. R. Senanayake was elected to the Colombo Municipal Council from the Colpetty Ward in 1912. He retained his seat in the municipality until his death.

Temperance movement

The three Senanayake brothers were involved in the temperance movement formed in 1912, led by F. R. Senanayake. He was a founder of the

Buddhist Theosophical Society Colonel Henry Steel Olcott (2 August 1832 – 17 February 1907) was an American military officer, journalist, lawyer, Freemason and the co-founder and first president of the Theosophical Society. Olcott was the first well-known American of Euro ...

with Colonel Henry Steel Olcott and became its president in 1914. The Temperance movement actively campaigned against the Excise Ordinance and the government practice of ''Arrack renting'', auctioning liquor licenses to open taverns and sell liquor locally. The practice brought in revenue to government coffers and was a profitable business for tavern owners leading to many business families establishing themselves. However, it caused many social problems in local communities with whispered liquor addiction.

Arrest and imprisonment

When World War I broke out in 1914, the Senanayake brothers joined the

Colombo Town Guard Colombo Town Guard was a regiment attached to the Ceylon Defence Force which was the predecessor to the Sri Lanka Army prior to 1949 when the Ceylon Army was formed. It was a volunteer (Military reserve force, reserve) regiment was based in Colo ...

. The brothers were imprisoned without charges during the

1915 riots Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January *January – British physicist Sir Joseph Larmor publishes his observations on "The Influence of Local Atmospheric Cooling on Astronomical Refraction". * January ...

and faced the prospect of execution since the British Governor Sir Robert Chalmers considered the temperance movement as seditious and had its leaders imprisoned. He was released after 46 days he was released on a bail bond.

Politics

Although capable of gaining membership to the

Legislative Council of Ceylon The Legislative Council of Ceylon was the legislative body of British Ceylon, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) established in 1833, along with the Executive Council of Ceylon, on the recommendations of the Colebrooke-Cameron Commission. It was the first f ...

, he didn't seek a seat in the Legislative Council. He stood for and was elected to the Colombo Municipal Council in 1912 and held the seat till his death. He formed the

Lanka Mahajana Sabha Lanka Mahajana Sabha was a Ceylonese political party founded by F. R. Senanayake in 1919. It was affiliated to the United National Party in 1946 and played an important role in attainment of Sri Lanka’s independence in 1948. Its members include ...

and assisted in the formation of the Young Men's Buddhist Association. He was a strong supporter of his brother D. S. Senanayake being elected unopposed to the Legislative Council from Negombo in 1924.

Death

He died on January 1, 1926, in Calcutta,

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 ...

following an appendicitis operation. He was on a pilgrimage to

Gaya Gaya may refer to: Geography Czech Republic *Gaya (German and Latin), Kyjov (Hodonín District), a town Guinea * Gaya or Gayah, a town India *Gaya, India, a city in Bihar **Gaya Airport *Bodh Gaya, a town in Bihar near Gaya *Gaya district, Bi ...

when he became ill.

Legacy

A statue of F. R. Senanayake has been erected in the Viharamahadevi Park facing the

Colombo Town Hall The Town Hall of Colombo ( si, කොළඹ නගර ශාලාව, ta, நகர மண்டபம், கொழும்பு) is the headquarters of the Colombo Municipal Council and the office of the Mayor of Colombo. Built in front of ...

. In the 2018 film ''

Nidahase Piya DS ''Nidahase Piya DS'' () is a 2018 Sri Lankan Sinhala biographical film directed by Suneth Malinga Lokuhewa and co-produced by Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, Dilman Jayaratne, Channa Hettiarachchi, Rajaputhra Weerasinghe, Kithsiri Athulathmudali and Clar ...

'' about the life of his brother D S Senanayake, Palitha Silva played the role of FR Senanayake.

Personal life

Family

He married Ellen Attygalle, the youngest daughter of Mudaliyar Don Charles Gemoris Attygalle and they had six children; Richard Gotabhaya, Fredrick Tissa, Phyllis Nedra "Girlie", Swarna Neela, Chandra Upali, Rupawathi. His eldest son

Richard Gotabhaya Senanayake Richard Gotabhaya Senanayake (4 November 1911 – 22 December 1970; popularly known as R.G. Senanayake) was a Sri Lankan politician. He was Minister of Trade and Commerce during the period 1952-56 and 1956-60. He was elected a Member of Parliamen ...

went on to become a member of parliament and a

Cabinet minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘prime minister’, � ...

. His eldest daughter Phyllis Nedra "Girlie", married

Siripala Samarakkody Siripala Samarakkody (1907 – 22 August 1944) was a Ceylonese lawyer and politician. Early life and education Samarakkody was born in 1907, the eldest of seven children to Charles Peter Augustus de Fonseka Tillekeratne Samarakkody and Anne Catha ...

and Swarna Neela married his brother's younger son Robert Parakrama Senanayake. His brother-in-laws included Colonel T. G. Jayewardene and

John Kotelawala Sr John Kotelawala (also known as John Kotelawala Sr; 4 November 1864 – 20 April 1907) was a Sri Lanka, Ceylonese police officer and businessmen. He was known for the murder of Francis Dixon Attygalle, one of the first sensational murder trials ...

. He supported his sister-in-law, Alice Kotelawala after she became destitute following the death of her husband John Kotelawala Sr. He educated and cared for his nephews

John Kotelawala General Sir John Lionel Kotelawala ( si, ශ්‍රිමත් ජෝන් ලයනල් කොතලාවල; 4 April 1897 – 2 October 1980) was a Sri Lankan statesman, who served as the 3rd Prime Minister of Ceylon (Sri Lanka) fro ...

and

Justin Kotelawala Justin Kotelawala, CBE, JP (22 August 1904 - 2 April 1973) was a Sri Lankan businessman and Senator. He was the former Chairman of the Ceylinco Group. Early life and education He was born to John Kotelawala, a police inspector turned businessma ...

Residence

Grassmere was the town house of F. R. Senanayake and

R. G. Senanayake Richard Gotabhaya Senanayake (4 November 1911 – 22 December 1970; popularly known as R.G. Senanayake) was a Sri Lankan politician. He was Minister of Trade and Commerce during the period 1952-56 and 1956-60. He was elected a Member of Parliamen ...

. The house was built by F. R. Senanayake in the exclusive neighbourhood of Gregory's Road and moved in with his family from his family a rented home in Colombo. It was at Grassmere, that Senanayake was taken into custody under martial law by Punjabi soldiers during the

. Following Senanayake's sudden death in 1926, the house was inherited by his son R. G. Senanayake. ''Gregory's Road'' was renamed ''R. G. Senanayake Mawatha'' in 2013. Today the house hosts the Colombo branch of the

Goethe-Institut The Goethe-Institut (, GI, en, Goethe Institute) is a non-profit German cultural association operational worldwide with 159 institutes, promoting the study of the German language abroad and encouraging international cultural exchange and ...

References

External links

Hundred days of terror under British

{{DEFAULTSORT:Senanayake, Fredrick Richard 1882 births 1926 deaths Alumni of Downing College, Cambridge Alumni of Royal College, Colombo Alumni of S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia Colombo municipal councillors Members of Lincoln's Inn National Heroes of Sri Lanka People of British Ceylon Prisoners and detainees of British Ceylon Fredrick Richard Sinhalese lawyers Sri Lankan barristers Sri Lankan independence movement Sri Lankan mining businesspeople Sri Lankan prisoners and detainees