Timeline Wednesday 4 February 1948

Events on Wednesday 4 February 1948 1

• 1948 Ceylon gains independence from Britain Dominion status granted within the British Commonwealth Ceylon became a self-governing dominion within the British Commonwealth on February 4, 1948, with D. S. Senanayake as its first prime minister. The transition was largely peaceful, following a path of constitutional negotiation rather than armed struggle. The country was renamed Sri Lanka in 1972.