The Reverend John Thiagarajah Arulanantham (13 May 1897 – 21 June 1964) was a Ceylonese priest and teacher. He was the principal of St. John's College, Jaffna from 1940 to 1957.

J. T. Arulanantham
Born(1897-05-13)13 May 1897
Died21 June 1964(1964-06-21) (aged 67)
Alma materSt. John's College, Jaffna
University College, Colombo
Ridley Hall, Cambridge
King's College London
OccupationTeacher

Early life

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Arulanantham was born on 13 May 1897.[1] He was son of two teachers from Nayanmarkaddu near Nallur in northern Ceylon. He was educated at St. John's College, Jaffna.[1] He then went to University College, Colombo from where he passed the University of London Inter Science Examination.[1]

Arulanantham was selected by the Church Missionary Society and sent to Ridley Hall, Cambridge to study theology.[1] He was ordained at St Paul's Cathedral in 1933.[1] He then went to King's College London from where he graduated with an honours degree in psychology.[1]

Arulanantham married Pushpam Asirvatham. They had three sons (Dr Pararasan, Vijayan and Dr Karunyan) and one daughter (Kirupa).[1]

Career

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After graduation Arulanantham returned to Ceylon and took up a position as principal of a school in Peradeniya.[1] In 1936 he was appointed vice principal of St. John's College, Jaffna.[1][2] He was appointed principal in 1940, a position he held until his retirement in 1957.[1][2] Arulanantham was the first native Ceylonese to be appointed principal of St. John's College.[1]

Retirement

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After retirement Arulanantham joined the church, serving as vicar of the Christ Church, Galle Face, Colombo.[1] Later he served as priest-in-charge of the St. John's Church, Chundikuli, Jaffna.[1] Arulanantham died on 21 June 1964 aged 67.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Arumugam, S. (1997). Dictionary of Biography of the Tamils of Ceylon. pp. 12–13.
  2. ^ a b "History". St. John's College, Jaffna. Archived from the original on 2008-04-08. Retrieved 2012-01-02.