Sir John D'Oyly, 1st Baronet, of Kandy

Sir John D'Oyly
1st Baronet, of Kandy
Ehelepola, Molligoda and Kapuvatta with D'Oyly
7th Civil Auditor General
In office 1 September 1814 – 1815
Preceded by	Anthony Bertolacci
Succeeded by	Edward Tolfrey
Personal details
Born	6 June 1774 England
Died	25 May 182425 May 1824(1824-05-25) (aged 49) Kandy, Sri Lanka

Sir John D'Oyly, 1st Baronet (6 June 1774 – 25 May 1824) was a British colonial administrator.

He was the second son of Matthias D'Oyly, Archdeacon of Hastings and his wife Mary. He was educated at Westminster School and graduated from Cambridge University in 1796.

He went out to Ceylon in 1801, initially as a writer in the civil service and then as President of various provincial courts. He mastered the Sinhalese language and in 1905 was appointed Government chief translator. In 1806 he became Agent of Revenue for the District of Colombo and in 1814, Civil Auditor-General for Ceylon.

D'Oyly had a key role in arranging for the British takeover of the Kandyan kingdom in 1815. Being fluent in Sinhala, he was the intermediary between the British Governor and the disaffected Kandyan chiefs who were intriguing to "sell out" the king, Sri Vikrama Rajasinha. D'Oyly is credited with drafting the Kandyan Convention of March 2, 1815 which set out the terms of the accession.

He was created a baronet in 1821^[1] and chose to stay in Kandy, eventually dying there in 1824. A Briton who visited Kandy before 1815 had described him as living like a "Cingalese hermit". His earlier association with a woman poet, Gajaman Nona, in Matara led to some speculation.

He died in 1824 and was buried in Garrison Cemetery, Kandy.

References

• Leigh Rayment's baronetage page