National

Today in History: December 16

In 1933, the first telephone service to the United States from The Bahamas was introduced by the telephone department, which later became BaTelCo, now BTC.

Published

1 year ago

December 16, 2022

Megan Shepherd

On this day in Bahamian history in 1898 Roland Theodore Symonette was born in Current, Eleuthera.

Symonette was a bootlegger, businessman and politician who served as the colony’s chief minister and first premier.

During the prohibition era Symonette became a rum runner amassing a small fortune which enabled him to buy large portions of land on New Providence and was one of the largest landowners in the country.

His 52 years as a parliamentarian still stands as a record in The Bahamas. His image was posthumously placed on the $50 banknote and a community park, just feet from his birthplace, was named after him in 2009.

In 1933, the first telephone service to the United States from The Bahamas was introduced by the telephone department, which later became BaTelCo, now BTC.

1976 saw The Bahamas Red Cross Society formally recognized by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) as its 123rd member. The society’s main offices are located on John F. Kennedy Drive in Nassau.

Then in 2004, Leroy CleveKand McKenzie, known by his stage name, Smokey 007 died in Nassau. He was 59.

The Bahamian singer-songwriter and musician popular during the 1970s and 1980s sang as a solo artist and with his group the exciters in the genres of reggae, calypso, soul, funk and pop music.

Some of his best-known hits were: “Tell Laura, I Love Her”, “Nobody’s Child” and “Never Ending Love”.

In 2015 he was posthumously honored during independence celebrations as one of 42 Cultural Legends.