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Sam A. Sabapathy

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Sam A. Sabapathy
சாம் அ. சபாபதி
1st Mayor of Jaffna
In office
6 January 1949 – 31 December 1949
Succeeded byK. Ponnambalam
In office
11 January 1952 – 31 December 1955
Preceded byK. Ponnambalam
Succeeded byKadhi. M. A. M. M. Sulthan
Personal details
Born(1898-09-06)6 September 1898
Died12 February 1964(1964-02-12) (aged 65)
Alma materSt. John's College, Jaffna
ProfessionLawyer
EthnicityCeylon Tamil

Samuel Ariaretnam Sabapathy (8 September 1898 – 12 February 1964 ) was a Ceylon Tamil lawyer and the first Mayor of Jaffna.

Early life and family

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Sabapathy was born on 8 September 1898.[1] He was the son of Kanagasabapathipillai from Varany and Annammah.[1] His brother S. Kulendran was Bishop of Jaffna.[1] Sabapathy was educated at St. John's College, Jaffna where he was head prefect, captain of the cricket team and member of the football team.[1]

Sabapathy married Kanakeswary, daughter of Nagalingam from Tholpuram.[1] They had a daughter (Padmini).[1]

Career

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Sabapathy joined the legal profession after finishing his education, becoming a proctor specialising in criminal law.[1] He practised law in Jaffna.[1]

Sabapathy was elected to Jaffna Urban Council, serving as its chairman between 1937 and 1939.[1] Jaffna was given municipality status in 1949 and Sabapathy became the city's first mayor.[1][2] He is credited with creation of Jaffna Public Library, Subramaniam Park and Health Centre/Maternity Clinic.[1] Sabapathy laid the foundation stone for the library on 29 March 1953.[3][4]

Death

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Sabapathy died on 12 February 1964.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Arumugam, S. (1997). Dictionary of Biography of the Tamils of Ceylon. pp. 169–170.
  2. ^ "Past Mayors". Jaffna Municipal Council. Archived from the original on 18 October 2013.
  3. ^ Thurairajah, V. S. (12 December 2002). "Jaffna Library rises from its ruins". Daily News (Sri Lanka). Archived from the original on 10 March 2007.
  4. ^ Palakidnar, Ananth (5 December 2004). "No shoes please". Sunday Observer (Sri Lanka). Archived from the original on 17 February 2015.