# Fame.am profile — machine-readable export
# Canonical URL: https://fame.am/person/ernest-de-silva
# Generated: 2026-08-13T22:48:46.717Z

schema: https://schema.org/Person
url: "https://fame.am/person/ernest-de-silva"
name: "Ernest de Silva"
slug: "ernest-de-silva"
description: "Sir Albert Ernest de Silva was a Ceylonese business magnate, banker, barrister and public figure, considered to be the most prominent Ceylonese philanthropist of the 20th century. A wealthy and influential polymath, he was the founder-chairman of the largest bank in Ceylon, the Bank of Ceylon, the founder-governor of the State Mortgage Bank and chairman of the Ceylon All-Party committee. He made many contributions to Ceylonese society and is also considered to be the preeminent philatelist in the history of Ceylon. Upon Ceylon's independence, he was asked to become the first Ceylonese Governor General, an honour he declined for personal reasons.\nDe Silva was at the pinnacle of upper-class society and, as the wealthiest Ceylonese of his generation, he defined the island's ruling class. His memorials describe him as highly respected for his integrity and honesty."
tagline: "Ceylonese businessman and lawyer"
image: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9e/SirErnestdeSilva.JPG/330px-SirErnestdeSilva.JPG"
gender: "male"
birthDate: "1887-11-26"
deathDate: "1957-05-09"
livingStatus: "DECEASED"
scores:
  popularity:           38.9
  momentum:             0.6818181818181819
  historical:           5.274010666666667
  currentAttention:     0
  sourceConfidence:     35
  profileCompleteness:  40
  trendDirection:       "STABLE"
ranks:
  global:   null
  country:  null
  category: null
sources:
  - url: "https://bn.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A6%86%E0%A6%B0%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%A8%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%B8%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%9F_%E0%A6%A1%E0%A6%BF_%E0%A6%B8%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%B2%E0%A6%AD%E0%A6%BE"
    title: "আর্নেস্ট ডি সিলভা"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%A5%D8%B1%D9%86%D8%B3%D8%AA_%D8%AF%D9%8A_%D8%B3%D9%8A%D9%84%D9%81%D8%A7"
    title: "إرنست دي سيلفا"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://arz.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%A7%D9%8A%D8%B1%D9%86%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%AA_%D8%AF%D9%89_%D8%B3%D9%8A%D9%84%D9%81%D8%A7"
    title: "ايرنسانت دى سيلفا"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://si.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B6%85%E0%B6%BB%E0%B7%8A%E0%B6%B1%E0%B7%83%E0%B7%8A%E0%B6%A7%E0%B7%8A_%E0%B6%AF_%E0%B7%83%E0%B7%92%E0%B6%BD%E0%B7%8A%E0%B7%80%E0%B7%8F"
    title: "අර්නස්ට් ද සිල්වා"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_de_Silva"
    title: "Ernest de Silva"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%86%D8%B3%D8%AA_%D8%AF%D8%A7_%D8%B3%DB%8C%D9%84%D9%88%D8%A7"
    title: "ارنست دا سیلوا"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5394059"
    title: "Wikidata"
    type:  "WIKIDATA"

# bio (long form, separated for readability)
bio: |
  Imported from discovery source: wikidata-dump