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Henry Sylvester Williams (15 February 1869 – 26 March 1911)〔(Henry Sylvester Williams Biography ), Encyclopedia of World Biography.〕〔The major works on Williams remain the biographies written by late Trinidadian journalist Owen Mathurin and Professor James R. Hooker of the Department of History, Michigan State University, and there is a slight difference of opinion between them as to the month in which Williams was actually born. Owen 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. 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."〕 was a Trinidadian lawyer, councillor and writer, most noted for his involvement in the Pan-African Movement. As a young man he went to North America to further his education, and subsequently to Britain, where in 1897 he formed an "African Association" to challenge paternalism, racism and imperialism; the association aimed 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 Hall in London. In 1903 he went to practise as a barrister in South Africa, becoming the first black man to be called to the bar in the Cape Colony. == Early life == Williams was born in 1869 in Arouca, Trinidad. His father Bishop Williams was a wheelwright from Barbados. His mother's name was Elizabeth. Williams attended the Arouca School, which at the time was run by a Chinese Trinidadian known as Stoney Smith. Williams started his working life at the age of 17, becoming a teacher with a Class III Certification, and in 1887 he was posted to the government school in San Fernando. According to the records, he was one of only three teachers with certificates in that year. A year later he was the only certified teacher at the school in Canaan, just south of San Fernando; and the following year he was transferred to San Juan, where he remained until he left Trinidad in 1891. A cultured man, he was also qualified to teach singing and played the piano regularly. In January 1890 Williams became a founding member of the Trinidad Elementary Teachers Union. The feature address was given by Chief Justice Sir John Gorrie, was in favour of reform in government and was constantly at odds with the white ruling class. He frequently gave judgments against the establishment and was so beloved by the man in the street that he was known as "Papa Gorrie". Williams exhorted the teachers to act as professionals. This is a free country, he reminded them, even if it is a Crown Colony. Gorrie undoubtedly would have influenced his thinking. Around that time, one of Williams' acquaintances, a coloured lawyer named Edgar Maresse Smith, petitioned the Governor to declare 1 August a holiday for the celebration of Emancipation. Robinson did not support it but Gorrie did. Even at that time, there was in Trinidad a highly educated, articulate and race-conscious group of black men, among them John Jacob Thomas, Maresse Smith, Mzumbo Lazare, C. E. Petioni, the Reverend Phillip Henry Douglin. Thomas particularly was famous for his book ''Froudacity'' (1889), in which he refuted and questioned the view espoused by Oxford historian James Anthony Froude that black people could not be entrusted with self-government. Thomas's ideas certainly inspired Williams. In 1891 Williams went to New York, but could only get work shining shoes. He moved in 1893 to Dalhousie University, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, to study for a law degree. While living in Canada, Henry became a co-founder of the pioneering and innovative Colored Hockey League (1894-1936), featuring teams from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. In 1895, he went to London and entered King's College London, but although it is known he studied there, there is no record of his enrolment at that time. In his book on the life of Williams, Owen Mathurin notes: "Williams was not as fortunate as some of his fellow Trinidadians who had come to study for professions at the expense of wealthy parents or as young winners of a government scholarship who received singular remittances." It was therefore not until 1897 he enrolled as a student of Gray's Inn to read for the bar. He satisfied the entrance requirements by passing a preliminary examination in Latin, English and History. Williams wrote to newspapers and journals on matters touching on Pan-African interests and during this time earned some money through lecturing for the Church of England Temperance Society. This took him to all parts of the British Isles speaking under the auspices of parish churches. He also lectured on thrift for the National Thrift Society whose chairman, Dr Greville Walpole, wrote that Williams's "heroic struggle to make ends meet won his admiration because the little he was able to earn by his lectures simply defrayed the cost of living." The then 29-year-old Williams became friendly with 32-year-old Agnes Powell, who worked as a secretary with the Temperance Society. She was the eldest of a family of three sons and four daughters of Captain Francis Powell of Kent, who was prominent in local Masonic and Conservative political circles. Williams and Agnes Powell married in 1898 in the face of the strongest opposition of her father, who refused to give his consent and thereafter refused to receive Williams. They had five children; the first, Henry Francis Sylvestre, was born the following year. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Henry Sylvester-Williams」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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