Henry Sylvester-Williams | |
|---|---|
 S. Williams (1905) by E.H. Mills | |
| Born | 15 February 1869 Arouca, Trinidad |
| Died | 26 March 1911 (aged 42) Trinidad and Tobago |
| Occupation | Barrister |
| Known for | Pan-Africanism |
Henry Sylvester-Williams (24 March 1867[1] or 15 February 1869 – 26 March 1911)[2][3] was a Trinidadian lawyer, activist, councillor and writer who was among the founders of the Pan-African movement.
As a young man, Williams travelled to the United States and Canada to further his education, before subsequently moving to England, where he founded the African Association in 1897 to "promote and protect the interests of all subjects claiming African descent, wholly or in part, in British colonies and other place, especially Africa, by circulating accurate information on all subjects affecting their rights and privileges as subjects of the British Empire, by direct appeals to the Imperial and local Governments."
In 1900, Williams organised the First Pan-African Conference, held at Westminster Town Hall in London. In 1903 he went to practise as a barrister in Southern Africa, becoming the first black man to be called to the bar in the Cape Colony.
- ^ Sherwood, Marika (2011). Origins of Pan-Africanism: Henry Sylvester Williams, Africa and the African diaspora. New York: Routledge. ISBN 9780415879590. OCLC 466361113.
- ^ Henry Sylvester Williams Biography, Encyclopedia of World Biography.
- ^ Williams date and place of birth is contested. Biographies written by Marika Sherwood, Trinidadian journalist Owen Mathurin and Professor James R. Hooker, Michigan State University, all express a difference of opinion between as to Williams' date and place of birth. Sandra Taitt-Eaddy Genealogist states that he was born 24 March 1867, Endeavour, St. James, Barbados to a carpenter, Henry Bishop and Elizabeth Williams (nee Payne). a. Mathurin in his book Henry Sylvester Williams and the Origins of the Pan African Movement 1869 – 1911 puts the date at St Valentine's Day (14 February) 1869. b. Hooker, based on interviews with Williams' son (Henry F. S. Williams) and daughter (Agnes W. Burns), puts the date at March 1869. As Hooker states in his book (p. 3): "Most modern writers have hyphenated his name without justification." c. c. Sherwood supports Ronald Noel's research in ''Henry Sylvestre-Williams: a new enquiry into an old hero'' M. Phil Dissertation, UWI St. Augustine 2006, p. 22, that located the registration of Williams' birth on 24 March 1867 in Barbados and maintained that Williams migrated to Trinidad with his parents and as a small boy.