POLITICIAN
S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike
1899 - 1959

S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike
Solomon West Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike (8 January 1899 – 26 September 1959), also known as "The Silver Bell of Asia" (ආසියාවේ රිදී සීනුව), was a Sri Lankan statesman who served as the fourth Prime Minister of the Dominion of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), serving from 1956 until his assassination in 1959. The founder of the left-wing and Sinhalese nationalist Sri Lanka Freedom Party, he was elected the fourth Prime Minister of Ceylon after creating a powerful coalition called the Mahajana Eksath Peramuna and contesting on the lines of Sinhalese nationalism and democratic socialism. He achieved a landslide victory over the ruling United National Party in the general elections in 1956. His tenure saw some of the first left wing reforms instituted by the Freedom Party in Sri Lanka such as the nationalizing bus services and introducing legislation to prohibit caste based discrimination. Read more on Wikipedia
His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike is the 10,665th most popular politician (down from 7,986th in 2019), the 15th most popular biography from Sri Lanka (down from 11th in 2019) and the 7th most popular Sri Lankan Politician.
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Among POLITICIANS
Among politicians, S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike ranks 10,665 out of 19,576. Before him are José Ramón Machado Ventura, Christoph von Dohnányi, Václav Talich, Bernhard II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, Theodosius, and Laoshang. After him are Xin Qiji, Kim Campbell, Robert Guéï, Amanitore, Yusuf Akçura, and Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg.
Most Popular Politicians in Wikipedia
Go to all RankingsJosé Ramón Machado Ventura
1930 - Present
HPI: 60.63
Rank: 10,664
Christoph von Dohnányi
1929 - 2025
HPI: 60.63
Rank: 10,665
Václav Talich
1883 - 1961
HPI: 60.62
Rank: 10,666
Bernhard II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen
1800 - 1882
HPI: 60.62
Rank: 10,667
Theodosius
583 - 602
HPI: 60.62
Rank: 10,668
Laoshang
HPI: 60.62
Rank: 10,669
S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike
1899 - 1959
HPI: 60.62
Rank: 10,670
Xin Qiji
1140 - 1207
HPI: 60.62
Rank: 10,671
Kim Campbell
1947 - Present
HPI: 60.62
Rank: 10,672
Robert Guéï
1941 - 2002
HPI: 60.62
Rank: 10,673
Amanitore
50 BC - 20
HPI: 60.62
Rank: 10,674
Yusuf Akçura
1876 - 1935
HPI: 60.61
Rank: 10,675
Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg
1826 - 1908
HPI: 60.61
Rank: 10,676
Contemporaries
Among people born in 1899, S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike ranks 141. Before him are Aleksander Zawadzki, Carlos Chávez, Anni Albers, Rufino Tamayo, Susannah Mushatt Jones, and Jeralean Talley. After him are Qu Qiubai, Alexander Tcherepnin, Aleksander Klumberg, Robert Casadesus, Semyon Krivoshein, and Leonid Leonov. Among people deceased in 1959, S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike ranks 84. Before him are Luigi Sturzo, Erhard Schmidt, Kenneth Anderson, Johannes Kleiman, Max Baer, and Aleksandr Khinchin. After him are Jerry Unser Jr., Giovanni Pastrone, Eduard van Beinum, Štefan Tiso, José Vasconcelos, and Patrick O'Connell.
Others Born in 1899
Go to all RankingsAleksander Zawadzki
MILITARY PERSONNEL
1899 - 1964
HPI: 60.88
Rank: 135
Carlos Chávez
COMPOSER
1899 - 1978
HPI: 60.87
Rank: 136
Anni Albers
PAINTER
1899 - 1994
HPI: 60.73
Rank: 137
Rufino Tamayo
PAINTER
1899 - 1991
HPI: 60.73
Rank: 138
Susannah Mushatt Jones
SOCIAL ACTIVIST
1899 - 2016
HPI: 60.71
Rank: 139
Jeralean Talley
RELIGIOUS FIGURE
1899 - 2015
HPI: 60.63
Rank: 140
S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike
POLITICIAN
1899 - 1959
HPI: 60.62
Rank: 141
Qu Qiubai
POLITICIAN
1899 - 1935
HPI: 60.60
Rank: 142
Alexander Tcherepnin
COMPOSER
1899 - 1977
HPI: 60.58
Rank: 143
Aleksander Klumberg
ATHLETE
1899 - 1958
HPI: 60.51
Rank: 144
Robert Casadesus
MUSICIAN
1899 - 1972
HPI: 60.50
Rank: 145
Semyon Krivoshein
MILITARY PERSONNEL
1899 - 1978
HPI: 60.48
Rank: 146
Leonid Leonov
WRITER
1899 - 1994
HPI: 60.34
Rank: 147
Others Deceased in 1959
Go to all RankingsLuigi Sturzo
RELIGIOUS FIGURE
1871 - 1959
HPI: 61.32
Rank: 78
Erhard Schmidt
MATHEMATICIAN
1876 - 1959
HPI: 61.32
Rank: 79
Kenneth Anderson
MILITARY PERSONNEL
1891 - 1959
HPI: 61.26
Rank: 80
Johannes Kleiman
SOCIAL ACTIVIST
1896 - 1959
HPI: 61.08
Rank: 81
Max Baer
BOXER
1909 - 1959
HPI: 60.76
Rank: 82
Aleksandr Khinchin
MATHEMATICIAN
1894 - 1959
HPI: 60.63
Rank: 83
S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike
POLITICIAN
1899 - 1959
HPI: 60.62
Rank: 84
Jerry Unser Jr.
RACING DRIVER
1932 - 1959
HPI: 60.55
Rank: 85
Giovanni Pastrone
FILM DIRECTOR
1883 - 1959
HPI: 60.52
Rank: 86
Eduard van Beinum
MUSICIAN
1900 - 1959
HPI: 60.45
Rank: 87
Štefan Tiso
POLITICIAN
1897 - 1959
HPI: 60.43
Rank: 88
José Vasconcelos
POLITICIAN
1882 - 1959
HPI: 60.23
Rank: 89
Patrick O'Connell
SOCCER PLAYER
1887 - 1959
HPI: 60.21
Rank: 90
In Sri Lanka
Among people born in Sri Lanka, S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike ranks 15 out of 51. Before him are Anagarika Dharmapala (1864), Mahinda Rajapaksa (1945), Aryadeva (200), Malcolm Ranjith (1947), St John Philby (1885), and Michael Ondaatje (1943). After him are Jack Churchill (1906), Maithripala Sirisena (1951), D. S. Senanayake (1883), William Chester Minor (1834), M. G. Ramachandran (1917), and John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher (1841).
Others born in Sri Lanka
Go to all RankingsAnagarika Dharmapala
WRITER
1864 - 1933
HPI: 63.38
Rank: 9
Mahinda Rajapaksa
POLITICIAN
1945 - Present
HPI: 63.27
Rank: 10
Aryadeva
WRITER
200 - 250
HPI: 63.10
Rank: 11
Malcolm Ranjith
RELIGIOUS FIGURE
1947 - Present
HPI: 61.50
Rank: 12
St John Philby
EXPLORER
1885 - 1960
HPI: 61.45
Rank: 13
Michael Ondaatje
WRITER
1943 - Present
HPI: 61.07
Rank: 14
S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike
POLITICIAN
1899 - 1959
HPI: 60.62
Rank: 15
Jack Churchill
MILITARY PERSONNEL
1906 - 1996
HPI: 60.28
Rank: 16
Maithripala Sirisena
POLITICIAN
1951 - Present
HPI: 59.82
Rank: 17
D. S. Senanayake
POLITICIAN
1883 - 1952
HPI: 59.32
Rank: 18
William Chester Minor
PHYSICIAN
1834 - 1920
HPI: 59.22
Rank: 19
M. G. Ramachandran
ACTOR
1917 - 1987
HPI: 58.06
Rank: 20
John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher
MILITARY PERSONNEL
1841 - 1920
HPI: 57.58
Rank: 21
Among POLITICIANS In Sri Lanka
Among politicians born in Sri Lanka, S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike ranks 7. Before him are Ranil Wickremesinghe (1949), Gotabaya Rajapaksa (1949), Sirimavo Bandaranaike (1916), J. R. Jayewardene (1906), Chandrika Kumaratunga (1945), and Mahinda Rajapaksa (1945). After him are Maithripala Sirisena (1951), D. S. Senanayake (1883), Ratnasiri Wickremanayake (1933), William Gopallawa (1896), D. M. Jayaratne (1931), and Ranasinghe Premadasa (1924).
Ranil Wickremesinghe
1949 - Present
HPI: 75.53
Rank: 1
Gotabaya Rajapaksa
1949 - Present
HPI: 73.46
Rank: 2
Sirimavo Bandaranaike
1916 - 2000
HPI: 71.36
Rank: 3
J. R. Jayewardene
1906 - 1996
HPI: 67.88
Rank: 4
Chandrika Kumaratunga
1945 - Present
HPI: 65.73
Rank: 5
Mahinda Rajapaksa
1945 - Present
HPI: 63.27
Rank: 6
S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike
1899 - 1959
HPI: 60.62
Rank: 7
Maithripala Sirisena
1951 - Present
HPI: 59.82
Rank: 8
D. S. Senanayake
1883 - 1952
HPI: 59.32
Rank: 9
Ratnasiri Wickremanayake
1933 - 2016
HPI: 57.29
Rank: 10
William Gopallawa
1896 - 1981
HPI: 57.20
Rank: 11
D. M. Jayaratne
1931 - 2019
HPI: 55.53
Rank: 12
Ranasinghe Premadasa
1924 - 1993
HPI: 55.53
Rank: 13