K. M. de Silva

Professor
K. M. de Silva
Born (1931-12-31) 31 December 1931
Ethnicity Sinhalese
Alma mater
Occupation Academic

Professor Kingsley Muthumuni de Silva is a Sri Lankan academic, historian and author. A former lecturer of history at the University of Ceylon, Peradeniya, de Silva has written numerous books on Sri Lankan history including the highly acclaimed A History of Sri Lanka.

Early life and family

De Silva was born on 31 December 1931.[1] He was educated at the University of Ceylon, Peradeniya from where he received a BA degree in history.[1] He later received a Ph.D from the University of London for his research into the social policy of missionary organisations in the mid-19th century.[1]

De Silva is married to Chandra and they have a son Rajiv (Ravi).[2]

Career

After graduation de Silva started teaching at the University of Ceylon, Peradeniya.[1] He was made chair of Sri Lanka history at the university in 1969.[1] He held this position until 1995.

De Silva was awarded a D.Litt degree by the University of London in 1991.[1] He founded International Centre for Ethnic Studies in 1982 and served as its chairman and executive-director.[1][3] He was awarded the 2002 Fukuoka Asian Culture Prize in the academic category.[4][5]

Works

De Silva has written/edited numerous books during his long career.[6]

References


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