29 July–14 August – Ceylon competes in the Summer Olympics for the first time in London, sending 7 athletes.
31 July – Ceylonese athlete Duncan White wins the silver medal in the Men's 400 metres hurdles, becoming the first Ceylonese athlete to win an Olympic medal.
15 November – The Ceylon Citizenship Act becomes law qualifying only about 5,000 Indian Tamils for citizenship. More than 700,000 people, about 11% of the population, were denied citizenship and rendered stateless.[5]