Background
Henry De Mel was born 21 January 1877, the son of Lakshapathiya Mahavidanalage Jacob De Mel (1839-1919) and Dona Helena nee Ferdinando (1850-1906), a cousin of Sir Charles Henry de Soysa.
lawyer Ceylonese industrialist
Henry De Mel was born 21 January 1877, the son of Lakshapathiya Mahavidanalage Jacob De Mel (1839-1919) and Dona Helena nee Ferdinando (1850-1906), a cousin of Sir Charles Henry de Soysa.
He was one of fourteen children and was educated at South. Thomas" College and Royal College, Colombo.
In 1898, he started his legal career with the law firm Peiris & De Mel and was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1904. He later gave up his legal career to concentrate on his plantation and mining interests and was also an avid motorist. De Mel was the producer and exporter of the world"s highest quality graphite and supplied Dixon Ticonderoga Company.
In 1919, de Mel became the first Ceylonese Commander of the Order of the British Empire. In 1931 he was knighted for his services to the government of Ceylon.
On 8 May 1936 De Mel died of injuries sustained after being shot while trying to resolve a dispute between two workers on one of his vast coconut plantations.