17 Facts About Hilary Beckles

Sir Hilary McDonald Beckles KA was born on 11 August 1955 and is a Barbadian historian.

Hilary Beckles is the current vice-chancellor of the University of the West Indies and chairman of the CARICOM Reparations Commission.

Hilary Beckles was named pro-vice-chancellor and chairman of UWI's Board for Undergraduate Studies in 1998, and in 2002 was named principal of the university's Cave Hill campus.

Hilary Beckles was born in Barbados, and began his secondary education at Coleridge and Parry Secondary School in Speightstown, Saint Peter, Barbados.

Hilary Beckles was sent to England to complete his schooling, attending Pitmaston Secondary School and the Bournville College of Further Education in Birmingham.

Hilary Beckles went on to the University of Hull, completing a BA and PhD with the university's Department of Economic and Social History.

Hilary Beckles joined the University of the West Indies as a history lecturer at its campus in Mona, Jamaica, in 1979, but transferred to its Cave Hill campus in 1984.

Hilary Beckles received a personal professorship in 1993, the university's youngest appointment to the position.

Hilary Beckles's work has covered a variety of topics within the broader area of Afro-Caribbean history, with works covering early slave rebellions in Barbados, the role of women in the slave trade, and the greater effects of colonialism on present Barbadian society.

In 1999, Hilary Beckles published a two-volume series on the history of cricket in the Caribbean, entitled The Development of West Indies Cricket.

Hilary Beckles serves on the editorial boards of several academic journals, including William and Mary Quarterly, Journal of Caribbean History, and Sports in Society, and is an international editor for the Journal of American History.

Hilary Beckles was named "Author of the Year" in 1991 by Barbados Cultural Promotions, and We Now Have a Country, a documentary that he wrote, narrated, and co-directed, was named "Documentary of the Year" in 1993 by the Barbados Association of Journalists.

In 2004, Hilary Beckles was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters degree by his alma mater, the University of Hull.

Hilary Beckles has since received equivalent honorary degrees from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana, in November 2009, and from the University of Glasgow, Scotland, in June 2011.

In November 2007, Hilary Beckles was made a Knight of St Andrew, the highest honour possible in the Order of Barbados.

In December 2021, Hilary Beckles was awarded the Governor-General of Antigua and Barbuda's Faithful and Meritorious Award's highest honour, the Cross and Plaque.

Some of Hilary Beckles' actions, regarding his role in both sports and academics at the university, have been controversial.