Today in History: March 6

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NASSAU, BAHAMAS – On this day in Bahamian history, St. John’s Native Baptist Church on Meeting Street was dedicated in 1835.

Originally called William’s Chapel and Bethlehem Chapel, The Bahamas Historical Society notes it was established by Prince Williams from South Carolina who escaped slavery and came to The Bahamas.

Williams was the founder of Bethel Baptist Church on Meeting Street along with Sharper Morris another runaway slave.

However, he was not allowed to serve as the church’s pastor because he had a bad marriage.

He then established St. John’s Native Baptist Church a few feet away from Bethel Baptist.

In 1916, Donald Webster Davis was born in Panama.

The Historical Society notes that as an educator Davis made many contributions including: Parents/Teachers Day, Achievement Day, the Green and Yellow Magazine and the ‘school uniform’, all innovations that earned him the title, the ‘Godfather of Education’.

He is also credited for assisting in the introduction of the Cambridge junior and senior exams in public schools.

Davis passed away in January 1971. He was 55. Eastern Senior School was renamed D. W. Davis Junior High School in his honor.

On March 6, 1963, William Horatio Butler Jr, known as Yama Bahama had his last professional fight in his home town Bimini. He fought Harry Monroe in a middleweight bout.

The Historical Society notes Butler got his nickname from a Miami Herald reporter who re-arranged the name of his trainer’s boat, which was the Bahama Mama.

On this day in 2013, a fire broke out at police headquarters on East Street in Nassau.

According to police reports officers were conducting a routine burn at about 10:00am, when the embers reportedly fell onto the roof of Ranfurly House.

The blaze was confined and extinguished a short time later, thus preventing any other damage to the property.