A hero is a person who is admired and acknowledged for their courage, outstanding achievements, and noble qualities. A National Hero is someone who beyond that has made significant positive contributions to the growth and development of society, and represents all of us. To know our heroes is to know ourselves: our values, our collective history, who we are, and what makes us as Bermudians great. Acknowledging our heroes is an acknowledgement of who we are – of our history, heritage, and culture.
National Heroes Day is celebrated each year on the third Monday in June. The purpose is to honour those persons who have been officially designated as National Heroes in Bermuda. The National Hero designation is a lifetime honour that is bestowed, and once a person is named as a National Hero he or she will be a hero forever.
Bermuda’s National Heroes
Dame Lois Browne Evans, DBE, JP, LLB
1927–2007
A lawyer and political figure in Bermuda. She led the Progressive Labour Party (PLP) in opposition before being appointed Bermuda’s first female Attorney-General. She first gained recognition in 1953 as Bermuda’s first female barrister.
Dr EF Gordon
1895–1955
Dr Edgar Fitzgerald Gordon (20 March 1895 – 20 April 1955), born in Trinidad & Tobago, was a physician, parliamentarian, civil-rights activist and labour leader in Bermuda, and is regarded as the “father of trade unionism” there.
Dr Pauulu Kamarakafego (Dr Roosevelt Brown)
1932–2007
Gladys Misick Morrell
1888–1969
Gladys Carlyon De Courcy Misick Morrell (2 June 1888 – 6 January 1969) was a Bermudian suffragette leader, who advocated for women’s voting rights in Bermuda for 30 years, and founded the Bermuda Welfare Society. She was designated a National Hero of Bermuda in 2015.
Mary Prince
c. 1788–
Mary Prince, an enslaved Bermudian—and, thus, a British subject—is the first known Black woman to relate a slave narrative. She was the storyteller of an abolitionist collaborative writing team that brought her story to print.
Sir Edward Richards
1908–1991
Sir Edward Trenton “ET” Richards (4 October 1908 – May 1991) was the first Black Bermudian to head the government of Bermuda and the first Premier of Bermuda. He was the leader of the United Bermuda Party (UBP) between 1971 and 1973. He was a vocal critic of segregation
Sir John Swan
1935
Sir John William David Swan KBE (born 3 July 1935)[2] is a former Bermudian political figure. A real estate developer, a political luminary and a philanthropist, Swan served as Premier of Bermuda from 1982 to 1995
Sir Henry Tucker
1903–1986
Sir Henry James “Jack” Tucker (14 March 1903 – 9 January 1986) was the first Government Leader of Bermuda. He is considered — together with Dr. E. F. Gordon (1895–1955) — one of the island’s two most important leaders of the 20th century. Tucker first took office on 10 June 1968 and served until 29 December 1971 as a member of the United Bermuda Party (UBP), the political party that he helped found in 1964.
Kristen Scott Ndiaye is a mother of two, an entrepreneur, the daughter of teachers, and an advocate for change. She has worked in publishing, literacy, and education.
Sources: