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Colombo University Observatory

Astronomical observatories in Sri LankaAstronomical observatory stubsUniversity of Colombo

The Colombo University Observatory is the astronomical observatory located at the University of Colombo. Formally the Colombo Observatory it is a permanently mounted telescope with its own observatory dome located on the university grounds next to Reid Avenue in Colombo. The observatory is used by the Mathematical and Astronomical Society.The telescope is a 12½-inch (32 cm) Newtonian reflector solidly fixed on a polar mount. This is housed in an observatory with a rotating hemispherical dome moving on rollers. Established in the 1920s, it was disused during the 1940s and 1950s after it was taken over by the RAF during World War II and damaged. It was put back into use in the early 1960s. The telescope was fully operational until the late 1980s when its components were stolen during the 1987–89 Insurrection. Since then attempts have been made for its restoration.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Colombo University Observatory (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors).

Colombo University Observatory
Queen's Road, Colombo Cinnamon Gardens

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N 6.90143 ° E 79.86139 °
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University of Colombo

Queen's Road
00400 Colombo, Cinnamon Gardens
Western Province, Sri Lanka
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Royal College, Colombo
Royal College, Colombo

Royal College, Colombo (Sinhala: රාජකීය විද්‍යාලය, Tamil: ரோயல் கல்லூரி) is a selective entry boys' school located in Cinnamon Gardens, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Started by Rev. Joseph Marsh in 1835, it was established as the Colombo Academy by Sir Robert Wilmot-Horton in January 1836, as part of the implementation of the recommendations of the Colebrooke Cameron Commission (1833), and was the first government-run secondary school for boys in the island. Royal College is the first public school in Sri Lanka and is often referred to as the "Eton of Sri Lanka". The school was founded in the British public school tradition, based on the recommendations of the Colebrooke Cameron Commission (1833), and having been named the Royal College, Colombo in 1881 with consent from Queen Victoria, it became the first school to gain the prefix, "Royal", outside of the British Isles and it was one of the first schools to be designated as a national school by the Sri Lankan Government in the 1980s. As a national school, it is funded by the government as opposed to the provincial council providing both primary and secondary education. The school was set as one of the most innovative educational institutions in the world at the fifth annual Worldwide Innovative Education Forum (IEF), organised by the Microsoft Corporation in 2009.The students of Royal College are known as Royalists whilst past pupils are known as Old Royalists. The school has produced many distinguished alumni, among whom are presidents of two countries, a sultan, and four prime ministers.