James Alfred Ernest Corea was a Sri Lankan public official. He was born in 1870. His father was Charles Edward Bandaranaike Corea who was a Proctor of the Supreme Court. His mother was Henrietta Seneviratne. J.A.E Corea's father died in 1872 when his youngest son Victor was just one. His wife Henrietta was a widow from the age of 21. Early life James Alfred Ernest Corea grew up in the west coast town of Chilaw, with his older brother and his three younger siblings, They lived with their mother, who was of the Seneviratne family of Sri Lanka. Education and medical practice Corea was educated at Royal College, Colombo along with his older brother Charles Edgar Corea. After leaving Royal College, he participated in a five year course at the Ceylon Medical College and qualified as a doctor. Following this, he entered government service and held his appointments at Elkaduwa and Kandy. Following his marriage to Letita Grace Alice Senevirante in 1897, he resigned, but continued his practice in Chilaw privately. Family He was the brother of Charles Edgar Corea and Victor Corea, Agnes Corea and Evangeline Corea. Charles Edgar Corea and Victor Corea were freedom fighters in Sri Lanka during British rule. C.E. Corea was elected president of the Ceylon National Congress in 1924. Both brothers were also elected members of the Legislative Council of Ceylon. The Sunday Times newspaper of Sri Lanka writing about the three brothers, noted: 'Of the three boys, the eldest, Charles Edgar Corea, was educated at Royal College and having excelled in studies and cricket, he passed out as a proctor of the Supreme Court, took to politics and in 1924 was elected president of the Ceylon National Congress. Warden Stone of S. Thomas' College described old Royalist C.E. Corea as one of the finest speakers of the English language. The second boy in the family was Dr. Alfred Ernest Corea who was educated at S. Thomas' College. He passed out as a doctor of medicine and chose to practise in Chilaw. He was a clever doctor and what was unique about him was that he charged no fees from the poor for his services. ' The English author, Arnold Wright in 'Twentieth Century Impressions of Ceylon,' published in 1907 wrote: 'Charles Edward has left three sons, the eldest of whom, Charles Edgar, a Proctor, is the unofficial leader of the Chilaw Bar, a