Chittampalam Abraham Gardiner

Sir Chittampalam Abraham Gardiner (6 January 1899 – December 1960) was a Ceylon Tamil businessman and member of the Senate of Ceylon.

Senator

Sir Chittampalam A. Gardiner

Kt KSS KSG
Member of the Senate of Ceylon
Personal details
Born(1899-01-06)6 January 1899
DiedDecember 1960 (aged 60–61)
OccupationBusinessman
EthnicityCeylon Tamil

Early life and family

Gardiner was born on 6 January 1899.[1] He was the son of Samuel Vairamuttu Gardiner and Salomapillai Bastiampillai.[1] The Gardiner family were originally from Achchuvely and Manipay in northern Ceylon but later moved to Colombo.[2]

Gardiner married Angeline Casie Chetty, daughter of Aloysius Mount Carmel Casie Chetty. They had an adopted son, Cyril Aloysius.

Career

Gardiner studied law before entering business.[2] He pioneered the cinema business in Ceylon and established The Ceylon Theatres Limited, which is now one of Sri Lanka's largest conglomerates, on 29 September 1928.[2][3][4] He controlled several leading businesses in Colombo and had interests in others including Cargills and Millers.[2]

Gardiner was made a Knight of St. Sylvester in 1947 for his services to the Roman Catholic Church.[2] He was also a Knight of St. Gregory.[1] He was appointed to the Senate of Ceylon in 1947.[2] He was knighted in the 1951 New Year Honours.[5]

Gardiner was a Rotarian and made a number of large charitable endowments.[2] He was a keen horse owner, his horse won the Governor's Cup in 1947.[2] He died in December 1960.[3]

Parson's Road, the site of Regal Theatre, Ceylon Theatres' first cinema, was renamed Sir Chittampalam A. Gardiner Mawatha.[2][3][4]

References
  1. Burnand, Francis Cowley (1952). The Catholic Who's Who - Volume 35. Burns & Oates. p. 167.
  2. Arumugam, S. (1997). Dictionary of Biography of the Tamils of Ceylon. p. 54.
  3. Jayanetti, Lalith (4 October 2003). "Ceylon Theatres marks 75 years". The Island (Sri Lanka).
  4. Ranatunga, D. C. (30 November 2003). "Reeling under 75 years". The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka).
  5. "Fourth Supplement". The London Gazette (39107): 43. 29 December 1950.
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