Vernon Corea was a pioneer radio broadcaster with 45 years of public service broadcasting both in Sri Lanka and the UK. He joined Radio Ceylon, South Asia's oldest radio station, in 1956 and later the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation. During his time he presented some of the most popular radio shows in South Asia, including The Maliban Show, Dial-a-Disc, Holiday Choice, Two For the Money, Take It Or Leave It, Saturday Stars, To Each His Own, Kiddies Corner, and Old Folks at Home. He was well known not only in Sri Lanka, but right across the Indian Sub-Continent from the late 1950s to the 1970s – this was in the heyday of Radio Ceylon, the oldest radio station in South Asia.
The Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) (Sinhala: ශ්රී ලංකා ගුවන් විදුලි සංස්ථාව, Shrī Lankā Guvan Viduli Sansthāva, Tamil: இலங்கை ஒலிபரப்புக் கூட்டுத்தாபனம், Ilangkai Oliparappuk Kūṭṭuttāpaṉam) came into existence on 5 January 1967 when Radio Ceylon became a public corporation. Dudley Senanayake who was the Prime Minister of Ceylon in 1967 ceremonially opened the newly established Ceylon Broadcasting Corporation along with Minister Ranasinghe Premadasa and the Director-General of the CBC, Neville Jayaweera. The first board of Directors of CBC consisted of Mr Neville Jayaweera (CCS), Mr A. L. M. Hashim, Mr Dharmasiri Kuruppu, Mr K.A.G. Perera and Mr Devar Surya Sena. After the first board meeting, it was decided unanimously to appoint the chairman, Mr Jayaweera, as the new Director-General.
Neville Jayaweera was a member of the Ceylon Civil Service (1955-1972). He was handpicked by the Prime Minister of Ceylon, Dudley Senanayake, to be both Chairman and Director-General of the Ceylon Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) in 1967. Jayaweera drafted the legislation for setting up the CBC and headed the new Corporation for three years. Under his leadership the Ceylon Broadcasting Corporation followed very strictly the values and ethics of public service broadcasting. The CBC is now known as the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation.
Sunil Santha was a Sri Lankan composer, singer and lyricist. He was pivotal in the development of Sinhala music and folk songs in the mid to late 1940s and early 1950s. He composed the beloved soundtracks to Lester James Peries' films Rekava and Sandesaya in 1956 and 1960. In a later comeback, he produced several experimental works.
Senna auriculata is a leguminous tree in the subfamily Caesalpinioideae. It is commonly known by its local names matura tea tree, avaram or ranawara, or the English version avaram senna. It is the State flower of Indian state of Telangana. It occurs in the dry regions of India and Sri Lanka. It is common along the sea coast and the dry zone in Sri Lanka.
Mervyn Jayasuriya was a veteran announcer with Radio Ceylon - the oldest radio station in South Asia. Jayasuriya presented some of the most popular radio programmes over the airwaves of Radio Ceylon, such as "Roving Mike" and "Sports Newsreel". Millions tuned into the programmes, right across South Asia.
Hewage Jayaweera was a Sri Lankan cricketer. He was a right-arm medium-pace bowler who played for Tamil Union Cricket and Athletic Club. He was born in Colombo.
Wijesinghe Jayaweera Mudiyanselage Lokubandara, was a Sri Lankan politician who was Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka from 2004 to 2010 and Governor of Sabaragamuwa Province from 2010 to 2015. He was a lawyer by profession, and wrote books, poems, and songs. He held several ministries in the government of Sri Lanka before his appointment as Speaker of the House.
Wijesinghe Jayaweera Mudiyanselage Udith Sanjaya Lokubandara is a Sri Lankan politician. Current Parliament Affairs Secretary to Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, he was his former private secretary and Member of Parliament, representing the Badulla District. He is the son of former Speaker W. J. M. Lokubandara.
Neil Quintus Dias commonly known as N.Q. Dias, was a Sri Lankan civil servant. A career officer of the Ceylon Civil Service, he was the Permanent Secretary of Defence and Foreign Affairs from 1960 to 1965, serving as the de facto Chief Adviser to Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike and as Ceylon's High Commissioner to India from 1970 to 1972.
Dilith Susantha Jayaweera is a Sri Lankan Businessman, Entrepreneur, Media mogul, and Lawyer. In 2011, he was named by the LMD as one of the ten ‘Business People of the Year’. In 2020, Dilith Jayaweera was among 100 corporate leaders named by the LMD on its A-list of businesspeople who continue to drive the engine of growth in Sri Lanka. He is the Chairman of George Steuart & Co., Sri Lanka's oldest mercantile establishment and Derana, one of Sri Lanka's largest media networks.
Deshamanya Edward Lionel Senanayake was a Sri Lankan politician belonging to the United National Party. He was the 12th Speaker of the Sri Lankan Parliament. Senanayake was the Governor of North Central Province and Central Province of Sri Lanka. He was elected to the Sri Lankan Parliament from Mahanuwara in Kandy.
Task Force Anti Illicit Immigration (TAFII) is a task force deployed by the Sri Lanka Army from 1963 from 1981 to counter illegal immigration from South India. It was the first field formation deployed by the Ceylon Army and had its headquarters at Palaly.
The following lists events that happened during 1999 in Sri Lanka.
Maviddapuram Kandaswamy Temple is a Hindu temple in Maviddapuram in northern Sri Lanka.
Jayaweera Kuruppu was a Ceylonese politician.
Alexander Francis Molamure was a Ceylonese politician.
Gastrodia zeylanica is a species of potato orchids which is endemic to Sri Lanka. It was added to the 2007 Red list of Threatened Fauna and Flora of Sri Lanka as 'critically endangered', on the basis of it having only been collected from a few localities.
Rajeewa Jayaweera was a Sri Lankan newspaper columnist.