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Denzil Peiris

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Denzil Peiris
Born(1917-03-15)15 March 1917
Gampaha, Sri Lanka
Died6 March 1985(1985-03-06) (aged 67)
Alma materNalanda College, Colombo
OccupationJournalist
SpouseRoshan
ChildrenRanjit (son), Suren (son)

Denzil Peiris (15 March 1917 – 6 March 1985) was the editor of The Ceylon Observer, published by Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited.[1][2]

Peiris was born on 15 March 1917, at Gampaha the eldest of a family of eight. He received his education at Nalanda College Colombo.[3] His father died whilst he was still at school so he took a job with Lake House (now known as Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited) to support his family. He rose through the ranks becoming the editor of Silumina in the 1950s, Janatha (a Sinhalese daily tabloid), Jana (an international news magazine) and eventually The Ceylon Observer in 1961, a position he retained for nine years.[4]

Peiris left Sri Lanka in the early 1970s to work as the Indian correspondent for a Hong Kong–based newspaper, The Asian. He then joined the Far Eastern Economic Review working as its regional editor before moving in 1979 to the United Kingdom to become the founder editor of South, a monthly magazine which focused events happening primarily in the underdeveloped Southern regions of the globe - Asia, Africa and Southern America.

Peiris died in London on 6 March 1985,[5] was cremated there, with some of his ashes buried at Highgate Cemetery and the remainder interred in Colombo.

References

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  1. ^ Peiris, Suren (12 July 2009). "His life was well lived". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
  2. ^ Dole, Nilma (7 February 2010). "82 Years of the Sunday Observer: Epitome of Sri Lankan journalism". Sunday Observer. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
  3. ^ Kurukularatne, Buddhika. "Denzil Peiris – the 'Captain' at Lake House". The Island. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
  4. ^ Gunawardena, Charles A., ed. (2005). Encyclopedia of Sri Lanka. Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd. p. 277. ISBN 9781932705485.
  5. ^ De Rosayro, Gaston (10 March 2002). "He inspired his 'troops' by example". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 24 June 2019.