Notable Historical Figures Noel Lloyd
b. 1936 in the BVI d. 2008 in Florida
Noel Lloyd, inspired by Martin Luther King, Jr, started the Positive Action Movement in 1968 to protest the Batehill company’s development of land in the territory. The Batehill leases “were to run for 199 years…leaving less than 10% of Anegada to its own people, and creating a barrier that would separate the affluent Roadtown harbour from the rest of the island,” according to an article in Squareball magazine. In an interview for the documentary Noel Lloyd Patriotic Man, Mr Lloyd said, “I didn’t get a group of people and we discuss and form a movement. I took positive action and moved, and as I moved, people followed.” In 2008, the Noel Lloyd Positive Action Movement Park was opened at Wickhams Cay I.
Sir Francis Drake
b. 1540 in Devon, England d. 1596 in the Caribbean
Sir Francis Drake was a ship’s captain and privateer, financed by Queen Elizabeth I, who gained fame and fortune in the late 1500s by raiding Spanish ships and collecting treasure. He made several voyages to the Caribbean to collect treasure for the Crown.
William Thornton
b. 1759 in Jost Van Dyke d. 1828 in the United States
William Thornton was a doctor, architect, inventor and “fervent abolitionist,” as reported by A Concise History of the British Virgin Islands. He is most known for having his design used for the United States Capitol Building. Dr Kent is quite sure that he recently discovered the remains of
William Thornton’s Great House in Pleasant Valley, Tortola, where he likely composed some of his sketches. The Library of Congress website states, “[Thornton] brought his first plans for the Capitol with him to Philadelphia from the Virgin Islands in October 1792.”
Samuel Hodge
b.1840 in the BVI d. 1868 in West Africa
Samuel Hodge was a true BVI hero. He would forever stake his name in history, when in 1866 he bravely volunteered and fought under the UK flag in the battle against a ruthless West African tribal chief. He’d eventually earn himself the highest honour bestowed upon a UK soldier of war: The Victoria Cross. Hodge would become the only BVIslander and first soldier of African descent to be awarded the prestigious VC.
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BVI NEWBIE 2013
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