Charles Henry de Soysa

De Soysa was born in Moratuwa on March 3, 1836, the son of a wealthy landowner and merchant. He received his early education from private tutors, and later attended St. Thomas’ College, although frequent bouts of illness prevented him from completing his formal studies. He later received training to manage his father’s import-export operations, assuming co-ownership of the family business with his uncle following his father’s death. In 1863, de Soysa married Catherine de Silva, daughter of a wealthy Roman Catholic family, with whom he would eventually have 15 children. During these years de Soya earned distinction for his business acumen, amassing a substantial fortune as an exporter of agricultural products to Europe, founding several tea plantations and becoming the island’s first banker. 

As his wealth and social status grew, de Soysa became increasingly engaged in philanthropic causes. He helped lead humanitarian relief efforts following the financial crisis of 1868, donating considerable funds to acquire and distribute food to people impacted by famine. In 1876, de Soysa founded the Prince and Princess of Wales Colleges in Moratuwa, with the aim of offering free education to low-income students. The Princess of Wales College enrolled more than 350 female students in its inaugural school year and remains noteworthy as the first educational institution in Ceylon to offer secular instruction to girls.

Determined to lower infant mortality rates on the island, De Soysa opened the De Soysa Lying-in-Home facility – later the De Soysa Hospital for Women – in 1879. Originally established in de Soysa’s childhood home, the facility grew to provide care for more than 14,000 women annually. De Soysa subsequently endowed several other major hospitals, as well as the Ceylon Medical College and the Bacteriological Institute (later the Medical Research Institute), the first disease research center of its kind in Asia. De Soysa’s generosity also extended outside of his native Ceylon. He was a major donor to hospitals across the United Kingdom, and he was instrumental in providing humanitarian aid to Ireland during the potato famine of 1879. 

Charles Henry de Soysa died on September 29, 1890, after contracting rabies from a stray dog. His statue still stands in De Soysa Circle in the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo – an enduring emblem of the nation’s first great philanthropist of modern times.

Contributor: Stephen Meyer