[3] Born to an entrepreneur from the village of Botale, Senanayake was educated at S. Thomas' College, Mutwal before briefly working as a clerk in the Surveyor General's Department.

[4] Spater Senanayake had made his fortune in graphite mining and at the time he was expanding into plantations and investments in the arrack renting franchise.

[3] Brought up in a devout Buddhist family, he entered the prestigious Anglican school S. Thomas' College, Mutwal.

They faced the prospect of execution, since the British Governor Sir Robert Chalmers considered the temperance movement as seditious.

The heavy-handed suppression of the riots by the British colonial authorities initiated the modern independence movement led by the educated middle class.

D. S. Senanayake played an active role in the independence movement, initially in support of his brother Fredrick Richard.

He became the Secretary (similar to a whip) of the unofficial members group of the Legislative Council, activity engaged in proceedings with a particular interest in subjects related to agriculture, lands, and irrigation.

At the onset of World War II in the far east, on 1 December 1941 a Civil Defence Department was formed with Oliver Goonetilleke as Commissioner.

D. S. Senanayake, as Minister of Agriculture and Lands and a member of the Ceylon war council took an active role in food supply and control.

During this time a close relationship developed between Senanayake and the deputy commissioner of civil defence, Dr. Ivor Jennings, who was the principal of the Ceylon University College.

[20] On 26 May 1943, the British Government made the Whitehall Declaration of 1943 on Ceylon constitutional change, which enabled ministers to make submissions.

Senanayake resigned from the National Congress disagreeing with its resolution on independence and instead approached the commission with his proposal of dominion status and they accepted the ministers' submissions, publishing these in the Sessional Paper XIV of 1944.

On his arrival in London, he met instead the newly appointed George Hall, who had succeeded Stanley following Labour's win in the 1945 general election.

[19] The granting of independence to India in 1947 and the appointment of Arthur Creech Jones as Colonial Secretary gave a new window for Senanayake to push for his case, using the new constitution that was recommended by the Soulbury Commission.

Senanayake's party, the UNP, fell short of a majority at the general election but was able to form a government in coalition with the All Ceylon Tamil Congress.

On 24 September 1947 he was invited by the Governor General of Ceylon Sir Henry Moore to form the island's first cabinet as its first Prime Minister.

While most domestic institutions existed, Ceylon remained dependent on Britain for trade, defence and external affairs.

He expanded the agrarian policies he had initiated during his tenure as Minister of Agriculture and Lands, a post now held by his son Dudley Senanayake.

[25] Senanayake's government introduced the Ceylon Citizenship Act which was passed by parliament on 20 August 1948 and became law on 15 November 1948.

Bandaranaike joined his Sinhala Maha Sabha in forming the UNP in 1947, having given the impression that Senanayake would soon retire and he would succeed him.

Senanayake assumed the portfolio of Health and Local Government held by Bandaranaike and began countering his break in parliament for the next few months.

[28] On the morning of Friday, 21 March 1952, Don Stephen Senanayake took his usual pre-breakfast ride on Galle Face Green, a short distance from his official residence Temple Trees.

However, the aircraft, with three more doctors and two nurses, was taxiing to take off when the message was received that it was too late, as the Prime Minister's situation was deteriorating.

Senanayake cared for animals and owned a wide range of pets such as elephants, horses, pigs, cattle; many kept at his estate and at the Bothale Walawwa.

[8] His eldest son, Dudley Shelton Senanayake, succeeded him as Prime Minister in 1952, followed by his nephew, Sir John Kotelawala (1897–1980) in 1953, but this nine-year family dynasty ended with the landslide victory of Solomon West Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike in 1956, campaigning under the "Sinhala Only" slogan.

Statues of D. S. Senanayake have been erected in many parts of the island, including one at the Independence Memorial Hall and at the Old Parliament Building, Colombo.

Many schools, libraries and public buildings have been named in his honor and the Rt Hon D S Senanayake Memorial Shield is awarded at the Royal–Thomian in which he played for S. Thomas' in 1901 and 1902.