1844 – The Birth of George William Gordon, Jamaican National Hero

Born on June 6, 1844, George William Gordon was the son of a slave woman and a Scottish planter in Jamaica. Despite his mixed heritage and the constraints of colonial racism, Gordon rose to become a successful businessman and member of the Jamaican Assembly. A fierce critic of British colonial rule and the injustices faced by the Black peasantry, Gordon championed land reform and fair treatment. He was falsely implicated in the Morant Bay Rebellion of 1865 and executed by hanging under martial law. His trial was widely condemned, and his legacy became a rallying point for Jamaican self-determination. In 1969, Gordon was posthumously declared a National Hero of Jamaica, remembered for his unyielding stance against colonial oppression and his advocacy for Black rights.