Sir Henry Steel Olcott

    Colonel Henry Steel Olcott (2 August 1832 – 17 February 1907) was an American military officer, journalist and a lawyer.

   Olcott was the first well-known American of European ancestry to make a formal conversion to Buddhism. His subsequent actions as the president of the Theosophical Society helped create a renaissance in the study of Buddhism. Olcott is considered a Buddhist modernist for    his efforts in interpreting Buddhism through a Europeanized lens.

   During his time in Sri Lanka Olcott strove to revive Buddhism within the region, while compiling the tenets of Buddhism for the education  of Westerners. Olcott was a major revivalist of Buddhism in Sri Lanka and he is still honored in Sri Lanka for these efforts.

        D.D.Karunaratne

    Meneripitiya Appuhamillage Don David Karunaratne was a Ceylonese politician.Karunaratne was elected to parliament at the 1st parlimentary election, representing the United National Party.

    Karunaratne was a wealthy landowner in the Gampaha District, owning a number of coconut and rubber plantations. In the 1930s he constructed a palatial walauwa, called Agra, in Bendiyamulla. In 1978 the Gampaha District Secretariat purchased the dwelling and 4.9 ha (12 acres) for Rs 15,300,000 and converted it into government offices, to house the secretariat.

    He donated the land to start Rathnavali Balika Vidyalaya.