Summary
Kingsley Muthumuni de Silva (born 31 December 1931) 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.
Professor K. M. de Silva | |
|---|---|
| Born | 31 December 1931 |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupation | Academic |
Early life and family edit
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 edit
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] De Silva was awarded the Deshamanya title in the 2017 Sri Lankan national honours.[6][7] He was appointed Chancellor of the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka in May 2017.
Works edit
De Silva has written/edited numerous books during his long career.[8]
- History of Ceylon: Volume I Part 1 (1959, Ceylon University Press)[citation needed]
- History of Ceylon: Volume I Part 2 From the Earliest Times to 1505 (1960, Ceylon University Press)[citation needed]
- Social Policy and Missionary Organizations in Ceylon 1840-1855 (1965, Longmans, Green & Co.)
- History of Ceylon: Volume III From the Beginning of the Nineteenth Century to 1948 (1973, University of Ceylon, editor)
- A History of Sri Lanka (1981, University of California Press)
- Managing Ethnic Tensions in Multi-Ethnic Societies: Sri Lanka, 1880-1985 (1986, University Press of America,)
- Religion, Nationalism, and the State in Modern Sri Lanka (1986, University of South Florida)
- Internationalization of Ethnic Conflict (1991, Pinter, co-author Ronald James May)
- Peace Accords and Ethnic Conflict (1993, Pinter, co-author S. W. R. De A. Samarasinghe)
- J. R. Jayewardene of Sri Lanka: a Political Biography (1994, University of Hawaii Press, co-author William Howard Wriggins)
- J. R. Jayewardene of Sri Lanka: 1906-1956 (1994, University of Hawaii Press, co-author William Howard Wriggins)
- Regional powers and small state security: India and Sri Lanka, 1977-1990 (1995, Woodrow Wilson Center Press)
- Reaping the Whirlwind: Ethnic Conflict, Ethnic Politics in Sri Lanka (1998, Penguin)
- Sri Lanka and the Defeat of the LTTE (2012, Penguin)
- Ethnic Conflict in Buddhist Societies in South and Southeast Asia: The Politics Behind Religious Rivalries (2015, International Centre for Ethnic Studies, Sri Lanka, editor)
- The Making of a Historian: A Memoir (2017)
- The Island Story: A Short History of Sri Lanka (2017)
References edit
- ^ a b c d e f g "2002年 (13th) 学术研究奖获奖 / Kingsley Muthumuni DE SILVA". Fukuoka Prize.
- ^ de Silva, K. M. (1981). A History of Sri Lanka. Oxford University Press. p. viii.
- ^ "Board of Directors". International Centre for Ethnic Studies.
- ^ "Lankan historian wins prestigious prize". The Island (Sri Lanka). 9 July 2002.
- ^ "Prof. K. M. de Silva wins prestigious award". Sunday Observer (Sri Lanka). 28 July 2002. Archived from the original on 15 December 2013. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
- ^ "PART I : SECTION (I) – GENERAL Government Notifications NATIONAL HONOURS" (PDF). The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Extraordinary. 2010/38. 17 March 2017.
- ^ "National Honours after 12 years". The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka). 19 March 2017.
- ^ "K.M. De Silva". Penguin Books, India.