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Thomas de Sampayo

Sri Lankan judge (1855–1927)

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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 4, 2026
Entity authorityQ7788907 ↗
Source-derived summary

Sir Thomas Edward de Sampayo, KC (1855–1927) was a Ceylonese judge and lawyer. He was a judge of the Supreme Court of Ceylon.

Biography

Born to Maha Vidane Mudaliar Gabriel de Sampayo in Colombo on 10 September 1855, he was educated at St. Benedict's College (former Kottanchina Seminary) before gaining a Queen's scholarship to study at the Colombo Academy (now Royal College, Colombo). He excelled in school, winning the Form Prize, Prizes for Latin and Maths, and the coveted Turnour Prize. Thereafter he won the English University Scholarship to University of Cambridge and study at Clare College, Cambridge graduating in 1881 with a LLB. In later years he would name his mansion at Silversmith Street Clareden after Clare College. After graduating he was called to the Bar from the Middle Temple the same year.

On returning to Ceylon he started his legal practice in Colombo. He also served as a lecturer and examiner at the newly established Ceylon Law College, and as co-editor of the Ceylon Law Reports. He also translated Johannes Voet's title on Donations into English.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Thomas de Sampayo” as sri Lankan judge (1855–1927). Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA concise reference frame for defining the subject, testing terminology and identifying the institution closest to the evidence. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1855, 1927, 1881—that can be checked directly. The authority record carries competing date values—1855-01-01, 1855-09-10—which should remain separate until their references and qualifiers are resolved. The account is most persuasive where Thomas, Sampayo and Lankan can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as sri Lankan judge (1855–1927). Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 4, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7788907. VIAF identifies the subject as 61263105. The Library of Congress control number is no2004091689. 3 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 1 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1855, 1927 and 1881.

Critical limits

Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Thomas de Sampayo” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.