Ananda College, Colombo was established on November 1, 1886, by the Buddhist Theosophical Society led by Colonel Henry Steel Olcott. Ananda College is a National School, which provides primary and secondary education. Ananda College was established by the Buddhist Theosophical Society. Originally it was known as an English Buddhist School, describing its stated intention of providing English instruction to Buddhist students who would otherwise have had to go to a missionary school in order to get an English education. The school opened on 1 November 1886 with 37 students in a private house at No. 61 Maliban Street, Pettah. Mr. C. W. Leadbeater was the principal. In August, 1889, the school moved to a more spacious location at No. 19 Prince Street. In 1895, it was relocated to Maradana during the period of A.E. Buultjens and was named after Arahant Ananda, the most devoted disciple of the Buddha. One of the memorable events in the school's history was the visit of Asia's first Nobel laureate, Rabindranath Tagore, on 10 November 1922, as chief guest at the annual prize giving. He declared on that occasion: "I acknowledge that the life of Ananda is its humility and unassuming nature.