Today in History: December 2

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NASSAU, BAHAMAS – On this day in Bahamian history, in 1694, William Shirley was born in East Sussex, England.

Shirley was a barrister, soldier and politician who served as governor of the Bahama Islands from 1760-1768.

His rule was quiet; dealing with smugglers in the islands was the major issue demanding the governor’s attention.

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Also in 1815, the Irish ship, Forest, sank off the coast of Great Exuma island. The vessel was travelling from Norfolk and commanded by Captain Lascell. All of her crew were saved.

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Then in 1934, Kenneth Andre Ian Rodgers was born in New Providence.

Rodgers was a professional baseball player in the United States’ Major League Baseball (MLB) for ten years and for one year in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball.

He was the first Bahamian to play in the MLB when he debuted for the New York Giants in 1957. Rodgers died in December 2004. He was 70.

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Air Canada made its first passenger flight to the Bahama Islands on this day in 1948.

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In 1954, former Deputy Prime Minister Theodore Brent Symonette was born in Nassau to Roland and Margaret Symontte.

Symonette’s father, Roland, was the first premier of the Bahama Islands and his half-brother Robert Symonette was a former speaker of the House.

Symonette is a lawyer, entrepreneur and former politician who held numerous cabinet positions.

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In 1974 Governor General Sir Milo Butler announced the first College of The Bahamas Act. The college, now University of The Bahamas, has been this nation’s premier institution of higher learning and research for more than four decades.

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In 2011 a fire engulfed and caused extensive damage to the Pompey Museum of Slavery and Emancipation in downtown Nassau on New Providence.

Formerly known as Vendue House, the building was previously used as an auction house where commodities including enslaved Africans were sold.