The eldest son of Philip Mervyn and Enid Doris Gratiaen

Born in Kandy, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), in 1933

Educated at Blundell's School in Tiverton, Devon.

Moved to Canada in 1956

Lives in London

Married with three children and 12 grandchildren

A retired businessman, he "lived in Canada for a number of years and built a highly successful career, first in banking, finance, and then publishing .. and now administers his own charitable foundation and actively supports a number of UK organisations."

Christopher Ondaatje is also the author of six books, among them areJourney to the Source of the Nile and Sindh Revisited.

Interests - adventure, philanthropy and cricket

Patron of Somerset County Cricket Club.

Member of Labour's 'million plus' donors

Given over a million pounds to the Royal Geographical Society and the National Portrait Gallery, who named a wing of the gallery after him.

Donated $1 million to the Royal Ontario Museum towards the creation of Canada’s first, permanent South Asian gallery of art, which has been named after him.

He was appointed CBE in 2000 for his charitable work

Born 1943 in Colombo, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka)

Grew up in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka)

Moved to England with his mother in 1954

Relocated to Canada in 1962

Lives in Toronto with his wife - novelist/editor Linda Spalding

Educated at:

 St. Thomas College in Colombo, Ceylon.
Dulwich College, London
Bishop's University in Lennoxville, Quebec.
Obtained his B.A. at the University of Toronto in 1965
M.A. at Queen's University, in Kingston, Ontario, in 1967.

Teaches at York University in Toronto, Ontario, a position he has held since 1971.

Edits, together with his wife, the literary journal Brick.

Has received numerous awards and honours.
He is the author of three collections of poems and five novels – one of which "The English Patient," won the 1992 Booker Prize and later turned into an award-winning film.