User:SerAntoniDeMiloni/sandbox

Simon Fernando Sri Chandrasekera was a Ceylonese entrepreneur, philanthropist and self-made man. Born into relative poverty and without a formal eduction, by the latter end of his life Fernando was among the wealthiest Ceylonese of the 19th Century, and was second in the purchase of land to Charles Henry de Soysa, who had inherited much of his wealth from his father, Jeronis de Soysa.

Through his enterprises, Fernando was a pioneering planter, industrialist and is acknowledged for bringing the portable sawmill to Ceylon. A close friend of the King of Siam, Fernando was a devout buddhist, often donating to churches. In 1898, Fernando donated the immense duties on the £60,000 gift of a shrine for the Temple of the Tooth from the Burmese.

By the end of his life, Fernando donated his land and properties to the government of Ceylon. His official residence in Colombo, Sirinivasa, became the National Library before serving as the Mayor's residence.