Sir Philip Christopher Ondaatje, KBE , OC (born February 22, 1933) is a businessman and author. A statue of an armoured knight of the Middle Ages For the chess piece, see knight (chess). ... Commanders Badge of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions, in decreasing order of seniority: Knight or Dame Grand... The Order of Canada is Canadas highest civilian honour, with membership awarded to those who exemplify the Orders Latin motto Desiderantes meliorem patriam, which means, Desiring a better country. ... February 22 is the 53rd day of every year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ...

He was born to a wealthy family in Sri Lanka of Tamil- Portuguese-Dutch-Singhalese origins and sent to Blundell's School in the United Kingdom. The family fortune was lost by his alcoholic father, however, and Christopher was forced to leave school a year from graduation. In 1956, Christopher emigrated to Canada, arriving in Toronto with virtually no money. He quickly began to rebuild the family fortune, becoming a wealthy stockbroker. He eventually became a multi-millionaire in the publishing industry, founding Pagurian Corporation. He also was an Olympic athlete, competing as a bobsledder in the 1964 Winter Olympics. Tamil may refer to: The Tamil language, which is one of the Dravidian languages primarily spoken in the South Asia. ... a resource to look at current viewpoints Categories: Indo-Aryan languages | Languages of Sri Lanka | Wikipedia cleanup | Language stubs ... Blundells School is a British public school, located in Tiverton in the county of Devon. ... Bobsleigh is a winter sport in which teams make timed runs down narrow, twisting, banked purpose-built iced tracks in a gravity-powered, steerable sled. ... The IX Olympic Winter Games were held in 1964 Innsbruck, Austria. ...

After many years of success, in which he was considered one of Toronto's most aggressive and predatory businessmen, he quit the business world in 1995. He moved to Britain and began a career as a philanthropist and adventurer. Travelling through India and Africa, he also became an author, following in the footsteps of his younger brother Michael Ondaatje, a world-renowned novelist. His books describe his travels and adventures. His philanthropic work and large donations to the Labour Party earned him a knighthood from the British government. He is also an Officer of the Order of Canada. Michael Ondaatje OC (born September 12, 1943) is a Canadian/Sri Lankan novelist and poet perhaps best known for his Booker Prize winning novel adapted into an Academy Award winning film, The English Patient. ... The Labour Party is the principal centre-left political party in the United Kingdom (see British politics). ... The Order of Canada is Canadas highest civilian honour, with membership awarded to those who exemplify the Orders Latin motto Desiderantes meliorem patriam, which means, Desiring a better country. ...

Recently, his book Hemingway in Africa was published, detailing his thesis regarding the life and motivations of Ernest Hemingway. Ernest Hemingway, 1950 Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist and short story writer whose works, drawn from his wide range of experiences in World War I, the Spanish Civil War, and World War II, are characterized by terse minimalism and understatement; they exerted...

See Also

Michael Ondaatje Michael Ondaatje OC (born September 12, 1943) is a Canadian/Sri Lankan novelist and poet perhaps best known for his Booker Prize winning novel adapted into an Academy Award winning film, The English Patient. ...

Pearl Ondaatje Pearl Ondaatje was a pioneer of Radio Ceylon the oldest radio station in South Asia. ...

External links

• Order of Canada Citation