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The founder
Governor Gregory founded the Colombo Museum in 1877
The Colombo Museum was established on 1 January 1877. Its founder was Sir William Henry Gregory, the British Governor of Ceylon. The Royal Asiatic Society had brought the need for a public museum to his notice.
The building
James George Smither planned the museum in the Italian style
The Government architect James George Smither prepared the plans for a new structure in the Italian Architectural style. Construction was completed in 1876 and the museum opened the following year.
Fridays
The builder asked that the museum close on Fridays
At the opening, Governor Gregory asked the builder, Wapchi Marikar, what honour he wished to have. He asked that the museum be closed on Fridays, the Muslim sabbath, and the request was granted and maintained.
The regalia
The throne and crown jewels of the last King of Kandy are here
The museum holds the regalia of the Kandyan monarchs. The crown jewels and the throne of the last King of Kandy were returned to Sri Lanka by the British Government and added to the collection.
The library
Since 1885 a copy of every printed document must be lodged here
The museum library was established on 1 January 1877 and took in the Government Oriental Library of 1870. Since 1885, by law, a copy of every document printed in the country has to be lodged with it.
Day 1, midday
It comes after Gangaramaya Temple. Then Galle Face Green.
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The words are a retelling of the Wikipedia article Colombo National Museum, and are shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. They are checked against those articles, and a fact that is not in them is left out.