Edward Richards

Sir Edward Trenton "ET" Richards (4 October 1908[1] – 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.[2][3][4]

For other people named Edward Richards, see Edward Richards (disambiguation).

Edward Richards
1st Premier of Bermuda
In office
18 April 1973 – 2 December 1975
MonarchElizabeth II
GovernorEdwin Leather
Preceded byNew office
Succeeded byJohn Sharpe
2nd Government Leader of Bermuda
In office
29 December 1971 – 18 April 1973
MonarchElizabeth II
Governor
Preceded byHenry Tucker
Succeeded byOffice renamed Premier
Personal details
Born4 October 1908
Guyana
DiedMay 1991
Bermuda
Political partyUnited Bermuda Party

Biography

Richards was born in Berbice,[3] British Guiana (now Guyana), the youngest of three siblings. After his mother died while he was an infant, he was raised by his father and grandmother. He trained as a teacher in Georgetown, and in 1930, at the age of 21, he joined his sister Pearl in Bermuda, where he taught mathematics, Latin and games at the Berkeley Institute.[4] He also worked as associate editor of the Bermuda Recorder, and on its pages made known his opposition to segregation.[4] He became a Bermudian citizen seven years after his arrival.[1]

In 1943 he went to Britain to study law at Middle Temple.[4] While studying in London, he assisted Dr. E. F. Gordon to present a celebrated petition from the Bermuda Workers' Association to the British Colonial Secretary in 1946.[5] Richards was called to the UK bar in 1946[4] and to the Bermuda Bar on 31 January 1947, becoming the fourth black lawyer to practice in Bermuda.[1]

In 1948 he was elected to Parliament representing Warwick Parish, serving in this position for the following two decades.[1]

In 1963, Richards welcomed Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia when Selassie visited Bermuda with his granddaughter Princess Ruth Desta.[6][7]

Political life
Bermuda
This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
Bermuda

In 1968, he was appointed Deputy Government Leader and Deputy Leader of the UBP. In December 1971, he became Bermuda's first black Government Leader. In 1973, The Constitution Amendment (Consequential Amendments) Act 1973 changed the Government Leader's title to Premier.[1] Richards held the position of Premier until December 1975.

Sir Edward Richards retired from politics on 29 December 1975, and from law practice in 1986, at the age of 78.[1] He died in May 1991 at the age of 83.[3]

Honours and recognition

Richards was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1970.[3] Richards was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.

A portrait of Richards is one of 80 painted by Esther Dai for display at the Historic Museum in Bermuda.[8]

In June 2015, Richards and Gladys Morrell were named National Heroes of Bermuda.[9]

Family

In 1940 Richards married Madree Williams, with whom he had three children.[3] His son, E. T. "Bob" Richards, is a politician and member of the House of Assembly of Bermuda for the United Bermuda Party. His elder daughter is circuit judge Patricia Dangor,[10] who now lives in London, England, with her children and grandchildren. His younger daughter is the writer Angela Barry,[11] who remains in Bermuda with her children and grandchildren.

Further reading
  • J. Randolf Williams, Peaceful Warrior: Sir Edward Trenton Richards (Camden, Hamilton, 1988) – official biography.

References
  1. "Sir Edward “ET” Richards", Bernews.
  2. "This month in history: E. T. Richards becomes Island's first black leader, December 29, 1971". Bermuda Biographies.
  3. E. T. (Bob) Richards, "A centennial for a peaceful warrior", The Royal Gazette, 10 October 2008.
  4. "Black history month: Saluting our heroes – E.T. Richards: first black in BDA to receive a knighthood", Bermuda Sun, 29 February 2008.
  5. "As Bermuda celebrates its 400th Anniversary, the United Bermuda Party salutes the contributions of the late Sir Edward Trenton Richards". OneBermuda.
  6. Keith Archibald Forbes, "Bermuda's History from 1952 to 1999", Bermuda Online.
  7. Letter, The Royal Gazette, 28 May 2013.
  8. Amanda Dale, "Family donates portraits of black Bermudians", Bermuda Sun, 1 June 2011.
  9. "National Heroes: Gladys Morrell, Sir ET Richards", Bernews, 8 June 2015.
  10. "Patricia Dangor", BLD.
  11. Kim Dismont Robinson, "The Atlantic Adventure" Archived 15 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine (review of Angela Barry's Endangered Species), The Bermudian.
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