Christopher Ondaatje

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Sir Philip Christopher Ondaatje , OC , CBE , (born February 22, 1933 in Kandy , Sri Lanka ) is a Sri Lankan British - Canadian writer, philanthropist, adventurer, former entrepreneur and former participant in the Olympic Games. In 2007 he lived in Chester, Nova Scotia , Canada . He is the brother of the writer Michael Ondaatje .

Life

Christopher Ondaatje was born in Sri Lanka, which at that time was still called Ceylon, as the eldest son of a wealthy Burgher family of Portuguese , Dutch , Sinhala and Tamil ancestors. In Ceylon he attended St. Thomas School in Guruthalawa , from 1947 he was a student at a boarding school in Tiverton , Devon in Great Britain , the Blundell's School . After Ceylon gained independence in 1948, the family's fortunes quickly deteriorated, so Christopher had to leave school in 1951, a year before he graduated. In 1956 he emigrated to Canada and arrived in Toronto with practically no money. From 1962 he worked for the Financial Post in Toronto . In Canada, he and business partners founded Loewen, Ondaatje, McCutcheon , Canada's first independent brokerage company , in 1970 and earned a lot of money as a stock trader so that he could quickly build up the family's fortune again. He founded the Pagurian Press , which was later sold to the Bronfman family , making good money in the publishing industry as well.

Ondaatje was a member of the Canadian Bobsled - team at the 1964 Olympic Winter Games in Innsbruck .

In Canada he became known as a sponsor of various non-profit organizations, including Lakefield College School , Lester B. Pearson United World College of the Pacific , Dalhousie University , National Ballet School, Royal Ontario Museum (with Sir Christopher Ondaatje South Asian Gallery), Massey College at the University of Toronto, and the Chester Playhouse .

After many successful years in the business, counting him among the most aggressive and ruthless businesspeople in Toronto, he retired in 1995. He moved to Great Britain and lived an eventful life there, but continued to sponsor various organizations. He traveled through India and Africa and, like his younger brother, the well-known novelist Michael Ondaatje , began to write books. His books are about his travels and the adventures he experienced.

In 2000 he financially supported the expansion of the National Portrait Gallery , in which a wing was named after him as the Ondaatje Wing . These and other donations contributed to his appointment by the British Government as Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2000 and to his appointment as Knight by the Queen in June 2003. In 1992, he was also the highest Canadian Civilian Distinction, Order of Canada Officer , and Senior Fellow of Massey College .

In his most recent book, Hemingway in Africa , he presents his views on the life and motivation of Ernest Hemingway .

Christopher Ondaatje has been married to his Lithuanian wife Valda since 1959 and has three children with her (David, Seira, Jans).

Works

  • Hemingway in Africa .
  • Leopard in the Afternoon - An Africa Tenting Safari . 2006
  • The Man-eater of Punanai - A Journey of Discovery to the Jungles of Old Ceylon. 2006
  • Woolf in Ceylon: An Imperial Journey in the Shadow of Leonard Woolf, 1904-1911 . 2005
  • Hemingway in Africa . 2004
  • Journey to the Source of the Nile . 1999
  • Are Revisited . 1996
  • The Prime Ministers of Canada, 1867-1967 . 1968
  • Olympic victory: The story behind the Canadian Bob-Sled Club's incredible victory at the 1964 Winter Olympic Games . 1967

supporting documents

  1. ↑ a b c d Excerpts from English newspaper articles about Christopher Ondaatje, including National Post Online of October 13, 2001 and Sunday Times of November 27, 2005. rootsweb.com (accessed January 30, 2008)
  2. ↑ a b c Interview and short biography at www.canadianbusiness.com (English) , accessed January 30, 2008.
  3. ^ Lester B. Pearson United World College of the Pacific - History of the Board. (No longer available online.) Formerly in the original ; accessed on March 12, 2014 (English).  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.pearsoncollege.ca  
  4. ↑ History of the Chester Playhouse on chesterplayhouse.ns.ca, (English)
  5. ↑ a b Short portrait of Christopher Ondaatje on bbc.co.uk (English) , accessed on January 30, 2008.
  6. ↑ Short biography of Christopher Ondaatje for BBC4 on bbc.co.uk (English) , accessed on January 30, 2008.
  7. ↑ Sir Christopher Ondaatje's 'Visions of an Island' posted on our site (English)
  8. ↑ Entry about Christopher Ondaatje in the Order of Canada (English)

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Ondaatje, Christopher
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Ondaatje, Sir Philip Christopher (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Canadian businessman and author
DATE OF BIRTH February 22, 1933
PLACE OF BIRTH Kandy , Sri Lanka