Sri Lanka on May 22

This is 22nd of May. It is day 142 of the year. As of today, there are 223 days left until the end of the year. If you are curious about the most important and notable historical footprint of Sri Lanka, let us delve into more On This Day events to uncover fascinating tidbits from the nation's history that covers for 365 days.

Today’s Highlight

• 1834 – The first session of the Legislative Council of Ceylon commenced in Colombo.
• 1958 – 1958 anti-Tamil pogrom (58 riots) marked the first island-wide ethnic riots and pogrom in Ceylon after its independence from Britain in 1948.
• 1972 – Ceylon adopted the Sri Lankan Constitution of 1972, transitioning to a republic and changing its name to Sri Lanka from its former name, Ceylon.
• 1972 – Republic Day of Sri Lanka, observed on May 22, commemorates the establishment of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.
• 1972 – The National State Assembly (NSA) was created as the legislative body of Sri Lanka under the First Republican Constitution.
• 1972 – Sri Lanka adopted its current flag, replacing the Flag of the Dominion of Ceylon (1951–1972).
• 1972 – Sri Lanka holds the distinction of being the only country to include details in a stamp in three languages: Sinhala, Tamil, and English.
• 2001 – The first irregularly shaped souvenir stamp sheet, shaped like a seashell, was issued for ‘Seashells of Sri Lanka’ on World Biodiversity Day.
• 2007 – The flag of the Northern Province was adopted for the Northern Province of Sri Lanka.

International observances

• International Day for Biological Diversity
• World Goth Day

Local observance

• National Heroes’ Day