Evangeline Thillayampalam

Evangeline Mutthama Thillayampalam (c. 1900 – 23 November 1976) was a Sri Lankan educator.[1][2]

Biography

Thillayampalam was from Allaipiddi in the Jaffna Peninsula. She attended Chundikuli Girls' College in Jaffna.[3] She went on to complete a master's degree in science at the University of Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh, India, followed by a doctorate at Columbia University, New York.[1][2][4] She became a lecturer in Lucknow, India, at Isabella Thoburn College.[1]

In 1941, Thillayampalam returned to Sri Lanka and in 1943 was appointed principal of her former school, Chundikuli Girls' College.[1] She was the first Sri Lankan and the first non-European principal of the institution, which had previously been led exclusively by British missionaries since its founding in 1896.[3][2] Her appointment marked a significant shift in the school's leadership, breaking a nearly five-decade tradition of European missionary principals.[2]

Thillayampalam is a relative of the Australian singer-songwriter Guy Sebastian, as revealed in a 2026 episode of the television series Who Do You Think You Are?.[5]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Arumugam, S. (January 1997). A Dictionary of Biography of Ceylon Tamils. London, England: S. Arumugam. p. 120.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Our History". Chundikuli Girls' College. Retrieved 20 January 2025.
  3. 1 2 "Always moving forward: Chundikuli Jaffna marks 125 years". Times Online - Daily Online Edition of The Sunday Times Sri Lanka. Retrieved 20 January 2025.
  4. ↑ Columbia University Alumni Register, 1754–1931. Columbia University. 1932. p. 897. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  5. ↑ "Guy Sebastian". Who Do You Think You Are?. Season 17. Episode 2. 19 May 2026. SBS.
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