Dr. Eric Eustace Williams

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Born on September 25 1911, Eric Eustace Williams was the son of Elisa and Henry Williams. He was educated at Queen's Royal College and won the Island Scholarship to Oxford University. At Oxford,he placed first in the First Class of History Honours School and received his Doctor of Philosophy degree in 1938. His doctoral thesis is a work of ground breaking scholarship on the topic of the slave trade. It was published in 1944 as "Capitalism and Slavery".

In 1939, Williams migrated to the United States to teach at Howard University. He became an assistant professor of social and political sciences. He developed a three volume work called "Documents Illustrating the Development of Civilisation" (1947). It was at Howard that Williams began to work as a consultant to the Anglo-American Caribbean Commission, a body set up after the war to study the future of the region. In 1948, he left Howard to head the Research Branch of the Caribbean Commission. Later, in 1955, he resigned from the Commission in protest against its 'cypto-colonist policies'. Williams returned to Trinidad and Tobago and became more involved in politics.

His first major political speech was titled "My Relations with the Caribbean Commission" (1955). A year later, Williams formed the People's National Movement (PNM), a political party of which he became leader. In September 1956, the PNM won the national elections and he became the chief minister of the country from 1956-1959, premier from 1959-1962, and Prime Minister from 1962-1981. During his term as Prime Minister, Williams led Trinidad and Tobago into the Federation of the West Indies, and to Independence within the Commonwealth in 1962. Williams died in office on March 29, 1981. He was awarded the Trinity Cross in 2002.