Christopher Ondaatje
Encyclopedia
Sir Philip Christopher Ondaatje, OC
, CBE
(born February 22, 1933) is a Sri Lanka
n-Canadian businessman, philanthropist, adventurer, writer and Olympian
. He lives in the United Kingdom
.
family of Dutch origin, Christopher went to Blundell's School
in the United Kingdom. After his alcoholic father lost the family fortune, Christopher had to leave school a year from graduation. In 1956, Christopher emigrated to Canada
, arriving in Toronto
with virtually no money. He quickly began to rebuild the family fortune, becoming a wealthy stockbroker, going on to be one of the three founding members of Loewen Ondaatjie McCutcheon. He became a multi-millionaire in the publishing industry by founding the Pagurian Press, which he later sold to the Bronfman family
.
He represented Canada as a bobsledder in the 1964 Winter Olympics
.
, Blundell's School
, The Sir Christopher Ondaatje Devon Cricket Centre at Exeter University, Lakefield College School
, Dalhousie University
, the National Ballet School, the Royal Ontario Museum
(the Sir Christopher Ondaatje South Asian Gallery), Massey College
in the University of Toronto
, Lester B. Pearson College of the Pacific, the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia
and the Chester Playhouse.
The Royal Society of Literature
Ondaatje Prize
is named after Ondaatje, as is the Ondaatje Prize for Portraiture from the Royal Society of Portrait Painters
.
, a world-renowned novelist. His books describe his travels and adventures.
His recent book Hemingway in Africa, details his thesis regarding the life and motivations of Ernest Hemingway
.
by the Queen
in 2003 for his philanthropic work. He is also a Commander of the Order of the British Empire
, an Officer of the Order of Canada
and a Senior Fellow of Massey College
. In 2011, he was awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society
.
He was elected an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature
in 2003. He is also an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society
.
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
, CBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born February 22, 1933) is a Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
n-Canadian businessman, philanthropist, adventurer, writer and Olympian
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
. He lives in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
Overview
Born in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) to a BurgherBurgher people
The Burghers are a Eurasian ethnic group, historically from Sri Lanka, consisting for the most part of male-line descendants of European colonists from the 16th to 20th centuries and local women, with some minorities of Swedish, Norwegian, French and Irish.Today the mother tongue of the Burghers...
family of Dutch origin, Christopher went to Blundell's School
Blundell's School
Blundell's School is a co-educational day and boarding independent school located in the town of Tiverton in the county of Devon, England. The school was founded in 1604 by the will of Peter Blundell, one of the richest men in England at the time, and relocated to its present location on the...
in the United Kingdom. After his alcoholic father lost the family fortune, Christopher had to leave school a year from graduation. In 1956, Christopher emigrated to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, arriving in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
with virtually no money. He quickly began to rebuild the family fortune, becoming a wealthy stockbroker, going on to be one of the three founding members of Loewen Ondaatjie McCutcheon. He became a multi-millionaire in the publishing industry by founding the Pagurian Press, which he later sold to the Bronfman family
Bronfman family
The Bronfman family is a Canadian Jewish family. It owes its initial fame to Samuel Bronfman , who made a fortune in the alcoholic distilled beverage business during the 20th century through the family's Seagram Company. The family is of Russian Jewish and Romanian Jewish ancestry...
.
He represented Canada as a bobsledder in the 1964 Winter Olympics
1964 Winter Olympics
The 1964 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IX Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Innsbruck, Austria, from January 29 to February 9, 1964...
.
Philanthropy
He is a significant benefactor; among the institutions he has helped are: The National Portrait Gallery, The Royal Geographical Society, Somerset County Cricket ClubSomerset County Cricket Club
Somerset County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Somerset...
, Blundell's School
Blundell's School
Blundell's School is a co-educational day and boarding independent school located in the town of Tiverton in the county of Devon, England. The school was founded in 1604 by the will of Peter Blundell, one of the richest men in England at the time, and relocated to its present location on the...
, The Sir Christopher Ondaatje Devon Cricket Centre at Exeter University, Lakefield College School
Lakefield College School
Lakefield College School is a coeducational boarding school located north of the village of Lakefield, Ontario, Canada.The school's motto is Mens Sana In Corpore Sano...
, Dalhousie University
Dalhousie University
Dalhousie University is a public research university located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The university comprises eleven faculties including Schulich School of Law and Dalhousie University Faculty of Medicine. It also includes the faculties of architecture, planning and engineering located at...
, the National Ballet School, the Royal Ontario Museum
Royal Ontario Museum
The Royal Ontario Museum is a museum of world culture and natural history in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. With its main entrance facing Bloor Street in Downtown Toronto, the museum is situated north of Queen's Park and east of Philosopher's Walk in the University of Toronto...
(the Sir Christopher Ondaatje South Asian Gallery), Massey College
Massey College
Massey College is a postgraduate residential college at the University of Toronto, established in 1963 with an endowment by the Massey Foundation. Similar to All Souls College, Oxford, members of Massey College are nominated from the university community, and are elected by and as fellows of the...
in the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
, Lester B. Pearson College of the Pacific, the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia
Art Gallery of Nova Scotia
The Art Gallery of Nova Scotia is the provincial art gallery for the province of Nova Scotia. It is located in the central downtown region of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada with a branch gallery in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia....
and the Chester Playhouse.
The Royal Society of Literature
Royal Society of Literature
The Royal Society of Literature is the "senior literary organisation in Britain". It was founded in 1820 by George IV, in order to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". The Society's first president was Thomas Burgess, who later became the Bishop of Salisbury...
Ondaatje Prize
Ondaatje Prize
The Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize is an annual literary award given by the Royal Society of Literature. The £10,000 award is given for a work of fiction, non-fiction or poetry which evokes the "spirit of a place", and which is written by someone who is a citizen of or who has been...
is named after Ondaatje, as is the Ondaatje Prize for Portraiture from the Royal Society of Portrait Painters
Royal Society of Portrait Painters
The Royal Society of Portrait Painters is a British association of portrait painters which holds an annual exhibition at the Mall Galleries in London...
.
Adventurer
After many years of success, in which he was considered one of Toronto's most aggressive and predatory businessmen, he left the business world in 1995. He moved to Britain and began a career as a philanthropist and adventurer. Travelling through India and Africa, he also became an author, following in the footsteps of his younger brother Michael OndaatjeMichael Ondaatje
Philip Michael Ondaatje , OC, is a Sri Lankan-born Canadian novelist and poet of Burgher origin. He is perhaps best known for his Booker Prize-winning novel, The English Patient, which was adapted into an Academy-Award-winning film.-Life and work:...
, a world-renowned novelist. His books describe his travels and adventures.
His recent book Hemingway in Africa, details his thesis regarding the life and motivations of Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway was an American author and journalist. His economic and understated style had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the...
.
Honours
Ondaatje was made a Knight BachelorKnight Bachelor
The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...
by the Queen
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
in 2003 for his philanthropic work. He is also a Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, an Officer of the Order of Canada
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
and a Senior Fellow of Massey College
Massey College
Massey College is a postgraduate residential college at the University of Toronto, established in 1963 with an endowment by the Massey Foundation. Similar to All Souls College, Oxford, members of Massey College are nominated from the university community, and are elected by and as fellows of the...
. In 2011, he was awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society
Royal Canadian Geographical Society
The Royal Canadian Geographical Society is a Canadian non-profit educational organization dedicated to imparting a broader knowledge and deeper appreciation of Canada — its people and places, its natural and cultural heritage and its environmental, social and economic challenges.-History:The...
.
He was elected an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature
Royal Society of Literature
The Royal Society of Literature is the "senior literary organisation in Britain". It was founded in 1820 by George IV, in order to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". The Society's first president was Thomas Burgess, who later became the Bishop of Salisbury...
in 2003. He is also an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society
Royal Canadian Geographical Society
The Royal Canadian Geographical Society is a Canadian non-profit educational organization dedicated to imparting a broader knowledge and deeper appreciation of Canada — its people and places, its natural and cultural heritage and its environmental, social and economic challenges.-History:The...
.
Publications
- Olympic victory: The story behind the Canadian Bob-Sled Club's incredible victory at the 1964 Winter Olympic Games (1967)
- The Prime Ministers of Canada, 1867–1967 (1968)
- Leopard in the Afternoon — An Africa Tenting Safari (1989)
- The Man-eater of Punanai — a Journey of Discovery to the Jungles of Old Ceylon (1992)
- Sindh Revisited: A Journey in the Footsteps of Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton (1996)
- Journey to the Source of the Nile (1999)
- Hemingway in Africa: The Last Safari (2004)
- Woolf in Ceylon: An Imperial Journey in the Shadow of Leonard Woolf, 1904–1911 (2005)
- The Power of Paper: A History, a Financial Adventure and a Warning (2007)
- The Glenthorne Cat and other amazing leopard stories (2008)
- The Last Colonial: Curious Adventures & Stories from a Vanishing World (2011)
See also
- Burgher peopleBurgher peopleThe Burghers are a Eurasian ethnic group, historically from Sri Lanka, consisting for the most part of male-line descendants of European colonists from the 16th to 20th centuries and local women, with some minorities of Swedish, Norwegian, French and Irish.Today the mother tongue of the Burghers...
- Colombo Chetty
- Michael OndaatjeMichael OndaatjePhilip Michael Ondaatje , OC, is a Sri Lankan-born Canadian novelist and poet of Burgher origin. He is perhaps best known for his Booker Prize-winning novel, The English Patient, which was adapted into an Academy-Award-winning film.-Life and work:...
- Ondaatje PrizeOndaatje PrizeThe Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize is an annual literary award given by the Royal Society of Literature. The £10,000 award is given for a work of fiction, non-fiction or poetry which evokes the "spirit of a place", and which is written by someone who is a citizen of or who has been...
- Pearl OndaatjePearl OndaatjePearl Ondaatje was a pioneer of Radio Ceylon the oldest radio station in South Asia. She was one of the radio station's first female newsreaders and a presenter of radio programs, including programs for women listeners of the radio station....