Richard Leslie Brohier, , , (5 October 1892 – 14 February 1980) was a Ceylonese Burgher

surveyor Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. These points are usually on the ...

and writer. He served as Deputy Surveyor General of Ceylon and Chairman of the Gal Oya Development Board.

Education and career

Brohier was born in

Colombo Fort Fort (Colombo) (Sinhala: ; Tamil: ) is the central business district of Colombo in Sri Lanka. It is the financial district of Colombo and the location of the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) and the World Trade Centre of Colombo from which the CSE ...

on 5 October 1892. He received his education at the Colombo Academy and at the Ceylon Technical College, where he studied surveying, having entered in 1909. In 1910, he joined the Survey Department as a

supernumerary Supernumerary means "exceeding the usual number". Supernumerary may also refer to: * Supernumerary actor, a performer in a film, television show, or stage production who has no role or purpose other than to appear in the background, more common ...

and was the first Ceylonese surveyor in the department. He passed the senior departmental professional examination in 1921, and was appointed to the grade of Assistant Superintendent of Surveys and headed the surveyor party in the North Central Province. In 1933, he was promoted to the grade of Superintendent of Surveys. Between 1938 and 1946 he served in the capacity of Acting Assistant Surveyor General and was confirmed as Assistant Surveyor General, later serving as Deputy Surveyor General. He was the first Ceylonese to serve in these capacities. In 1946, he served as the Secretary to the first Delimitation Commission, appointed under the Ceylon (Constitution) Order in Council. He took early retirement while serving as Deputy Surveyor General on request of Prime Minister D. S. Senanayake to become a member of the Gal Oya Development Board, later serving as its chairman.

Honors and appointments

Brohier was elected a

Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

of the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

in 1931 and of the

Institute of Chartered Surveyors The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) is a global professional body for those working in the Built Environment, Construction, Land, Property and Real Estate. The RICS was founded in London in 1868. It works at a cross-governmental ...

in 1947. He was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in the 1947 Birthday Honours for his service as Assistant Surveyor General. He was awarded an honorary doctorate

DLitt Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or '), also termed Doctor of Literature in some countries, is a terminal degree in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. In the United States, at universities such as Drew University, the degree ...

(

Honoris Causa An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

) from 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 Univ ...

in 1963 and was presented the Gold Medal of the

Royal Asiatic Society The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, commonly known as the Royal Asiatic Society, was established, according to its royal charter of 11 August 1824, to further "the investigation of subjects connected with and for the encourag ...

in 1971. In 1978, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Oranje Nassau by

Queen Juliana Juliana (; Juliana Louise Emma Marie Wilhelmina; 30 April 1909 – 20 March 2004) was List of monarchs of the Netherlands, Queen of the Netherlands from 1948 until her abdication in 1980. Juliana was the only child of Queen Wilhelmina and Duke ...

of the Netherlands. He served as president of the Engineering Association of Ceylon; President of the Ceylon Geographical Association; President of the Ceylon Survey Institute, and President of the

Dutch Burgher Union of Ceylon The Dutch Burgher Union of Ceylon (abbreviated as: DBUC; ), known commonly as the Dutch Burgher Union (DBU), is an organisation of Dutch Burghers in Sri Lanka. It was established on 18 January 1908 by R.G. Anthonisz, Richard Gerald Anthonisz. Hi ...

. He was elected as a Fellow of the

and an honorary member of the Netherlands Alumni Association.

Author

He authored several books, including:

Bibliography

*The Golden Age of Military Adventure in Ceylon in 1933. *The Ancient Irrigation Works of Ceylon in three parts (1934/35), which was reprinted in 1949 and 1979. *De Wolvendaalsche Kerk in 1938 and reprinted in 1938 and 1957. *History of Irrigation and Colonisation in Ceylon in 1941. *Lands Maps and Surveys Vol I and Vol II in 1951. *The Gal Oya Valley Project in Ceylon in 1951. *Seeing Ceylon in 1965 reprinted in 1971 and reprinted in 1981. *Furniture in Dutch Ceylon in 1969 and reprinted in 1978. *Discovering Ceylon in 1973 and reprinted in 1982. *Food and the People in 1975 *Links between Sri Lanka and the Netherlands in 1978 *Changing Face of Colombo in 1984 (Posthumously) *The Golden Plains in 1992 (Posthumously)

External links and References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brohier, Richard Leslie 1892 births 1980 deaths Alumni of Ceylon Technical College Alumni of Royal College, Colombo Burgher people Sri Lankan journalists Sri Lankan surveyors Burgher writers Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society Ceylonese Officers of the Order of the British Empire Officers of the Order of Orange-Nassau People from British Ceylon Sri Lankan people of French descent