Age, Biography and Wiki

Ray Wijewardene (Philip Revatha Wijewardene) was born on 20 August, 1924 in Colombo, Ceylon, is a Sri Lankan sailor. Discover Ray Wijewardene's Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. Learn How rich is he in this year and how he spends money? Also learn how he earned most of networth at the age of 85 years old?

Popular As Philip Revatha Wijewardene
Occupation Engineer, Farmer
Age 85 years old
Zodiac Sign Leo
Born 20 August 1924
Birthday 20 August
Birthplace Colombo, Ceylon
Date of death 18 August, 2010
Died Place Colombo, Sri Lanka
Nationality Sri Lanka

We recommend you to check the complete list of Famous People born on 20 August. He is a member of famous Engineer with the age 85 years old group.

Ray Wijewardene Height, Weight & Measurements

At 85 years old, Ray Wijewardene height not available right now. We will update Ray Wijewardene's Height, weight, Body Measurements, Eye Color, Hair Color, Shoe & Dress size soon as possible.

Physical Status
Height Not Available
Weight Not Available
Body Measurements Not Available
Eye Color Not Available
Hair Color Not Available

Who Is Ray Wijewardene's Wife?

His wife is Seela de Mel

Family
Parents Not Available
Wife Seela de Mel
Sibling Not Available
Children Anoma Wijewardene, Roshini, Mandy

Ray Wijewardene Net Worth

His net worth has been growing significantly in 2023-2024. So, how much is Ray Wijewardene worth at the age of 85 years old? Ray Wijewardene’s income source is mostly from being a successful Engineer. He is from Sri Lanka. We have estimated Ray Wijewardene's net worth, money, salary, income, and assets.

Net Worth in 2024 $1 Million - $5 Million
Salary in 2024 Under Review
Net Worth in 2023 Pending
Salary in 2023 Under Review
House Not Available
Cars Not Available
Source of Income Engineer

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Timeline

1924

Deshamanya Philip Revatha Wijewardene, better known as Ray Wijewardene, (Sinhala:පිලිප් රෙවත විජයවර්ධන) (20 August 1924 - 18 August 2010) was a Sri Lankan engineer, aviator, inventor, and Olympic athlete.

He was an expert on tropical agriculture and natural resource management, subjects that he created a logical system to study.

He invented devices to assist small farmers in developing countries.

Wijewardene was born in Colombo, Ceylon, on 20 August 1924.

He studied at CMS Ladies’ College, Colombo and St Thomas’ College Mount Lavinia, both private Anglican schools.

He proceeded to Peterhouse, University of Cambridge, UK, where he studied aeronautical, mechanical and agricultural engineering and earned the degree of M.A. (Cantab).

He qualified as a Chartered Engineer in the U.K. and Sri Lanka, and later followed a course in business administration at Harvard Business School.

1949

In 1949 Wijewardene married Seela, the daughter of Benjamin de Mel (a brother of Sir Henry De Mel) and Marjorie Perera Abeywardene (a granddaughter of Sir Charles Henry de Soysa).

Anoma, Roshni and Mandy are their daughters.

Anoma is an artist, and Mandy is married to prominent Sri Lankan author Suresh Mudannayake (known as Ashok Ferrey).

His cousins were Upali Wijewardene and Junius Richard Jayewardene.

1955

In 1955, Wijewardene designed a two-wheeled, walking tractor to help small farmers in the tropics to mechanise their work.

In an early attempt to mechanise farm labour during the Green Revolution, it was manufactured and marketed worldwide by the Landmaster company.

He promoted the tractor with farmers in Africa, Asia, and Latin America for a decade.

Wijewardene later questioned its value for poor farmers cultivating small holdings in the developing world.

His lifelong interest was to help small farmers to grow more food with fewer external inputs.

He searched for natural ways to manage soil fertility and weeds.

He promoted a soil conservation technique called Sloping Agricultural Land Technology (SALT), originally developed in the Philippines.

SALT involved land terracing, the use of leaf mulch, and re-introducing trees into rain-fed farming.

1968

He competed in the Olympic Games in Mexico in 1968, and won a Silver medal at the 6th Asian Games in Bangkok in 1970.

He was a member of both the Colombo Rowing Club and the Ceylon Motor Yacht Club.

As an aviator, he held a pilot license to fly fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters and autogyros.

He experimented with building and flying ultralight aircraft and helicopters, and trained pilots and aircraft technicians.

1970

During the 1970s, Wijewardene worked as an expert on tropical farming systems with the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Bank.

1973

He was head of agricultural engineering at the Mechanization and Automation Research Centre (MARDI) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from 1973 to 1974.

1975

He served as head of agricultural engineering and research at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in Ibadan, Nigeria (1975–1980).

Wijewardene worked with Sri Lanka's business, research, and policy communities in his areas of expertise.

He held appointments such as Chairman of the Tea Research Board, Commissioner Sri Lanka Inventors Commission and was a member of public sector bodies concerned with agriculture, science and technology.

1980

After returning to Sri Lanka in 1980, Wijewardene spent the rest of his years researching and promoting ecologically sustainable agriculture and renewable energy technologies.

He experimented with rain-fed farming and agroforestry methods on his coconut estate in Kakkapalliya, in Sri Lanka's Intermediate Zone.

He did field tests for dendro thermal power, the generation of electricity from firewood.

This technology is increasingly used by industry.

He introduced inter-cropping gliricidia with coconut, vastly increasing coconut yields.

Wijewardene engaged in the water sports of rowing and sailing and represented Sri Lanka in international competitive events.

2002

He was Chancellor of the University of Moratuwa (2002–2007).

2011

The Ray Wijewardene Charitable Trust was established in 2011 to support and reward Sri Lankan engineers.

Wijewardene's father was Don Edmund Wijewardene (brother of D. R. Wijewardena) and his mother was Corin Amanda Jennings, both of whom were gynaecologists.

2014

In 2014, a postal stamp honouring him was released in Sri Lanka.