The history of Trinidad and Tobago begins with the settlements of the islands by Amerindians, specifically the Island Carib and Arawak peoples. Both islands were explored by Christopher Columbus on his third voyage in 1498. Trinidad remained in Spanish hands until 1797, but it was largely settled by French colonists. Tobago changed hands between the British, French, Dutch, and Courlanders, but eventually ended up in British hands following the second Treaty of Paris (1814). In 1889 the two islands were incorporated into a single crown colony. Trinidad and Tobago obtained its independence from the British Empire in 1962 and became a republic in 1976.
Patrick Augustus Mervyn Manning was a Trinidadian politician who was the fourth and sixth Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago; his terms ran from 17 December 1991 to 9 November 1995 and from 24 December 2001 to 26 May 2010. He was also Political Leader of the People's National Movement (PNM) from 1987 to 2010. A geologist by training, Manning served as Member of Parliament for the San Fernando East constituency from 1971 until 2015 when he was replaced by Randall Mitchell and was the longest-serving member of the House of Representatives. He was the Leader of the Opposition from 1986 to 1990 and again from 1995 to 2001.
George Maxwell Richards,, was a Trinidadian and Tobagonian politician who served as the fourth President of Trinidad and Tobago, in office from 2003 to 2013. He was the first President of Trinidad and Tobago and head of state in the Anglophone Caribbean to have Amerindian ancestry.
Manny Ramjohn was an athlete from Trinidad and Tobago, born in San Fernando, and educated at Naparima College in San Fernando.
Samuel "Sam" Selvon was a Trinidad-born writer. His 1956 novel The Lonely Londoners is groundbreaking in its use of creolised English, or "nation language", for narrative as well as dialogue.
Simbhoonath Capildeo was born in 1914 and died in 1990 was a Trinidad and Tobago prominent Hindu politician and lawyer he was born in Chaguanas. He was the elder brother of Rudranath Capildeo and uncle of Sir Vidia Naipaul and Shiva Naipaul. A politician who would later earn the reputation as the "lion of the Legislative Council" Capildeo was one of the founding members of the Democratic Labour Party and a member of parliament from 1956 to 1966. He served as the Leader of the Opposition in 1956. Capildeo was also an important leader of the Hindu community in Trinidad and played in role in the foundation of the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha along with Bhadase Sagan Maraj. He received the Chaconia Gold medal from the Trinidad and Tobago government for his service to the country.
The Scout Association of Trinidad and Tobago is the national Scouting organization of Trinidad and Tobago. Scouting was founded in Trinidad and Tobago in 1912 and became a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement in 1963. The association has 5,234 members.
Lancelot Layne was a rapso artist from Trinidad and Tobago.
The Trinidad and Tobago Television Company, stylied as,(TTT), was a national television broadcaster in Trinidad and Tobago. The company operated two stations, ttt on channels 2 and 13 and Alternative Television on channels 9 and 14. The headquarters of TTT is located at 11 A Maraval Road, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. The station was closed at midnight on 14 January 2005. TTT Limited was re-launched as a re-branded version of former media group CNMG by Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Dr. the Honourable Keith Rowley at 3:00 PM AST replacing C TV.
James Isaac Alexander Manswell, was born in Brighton La Brea, Trinidad and Tobago. He briefly entered the teaching profession in 1945 before joining the Civil Service on 14 July 1946 as a 2nd Class Clerk at the Port of Spain Magistracy. In 1950 he was elected Secretary of the Staff Side of the Magistracy Division of the Civil Service and followed that in 1955 by being elected to the Executive of the Civil Service Association(CSA) representing the Eastern Counties.
Boscoe Holder, born Arthur Aldwyn Holder in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, was Trinidad and Tobago's leading contemporary painter, who also had a celebrated international career spanning six decades as a designer and visual artist, dancer, choreographer and musician. In 1948 he married the dancer Sheila Davis Clarke, daughter of radio personality Kathleen Davis, and their son Christian was born the following year. Christian Holder eventually became a leading dancer with the Joffrey Ballet and an artist in his own right. Living in London, England, during the 1950s and 1960s, Boscoe Holder has been credited with introducing limbo dancing and steel-pan playing to Britain, performing on British television and radio, in variety and nightclubs, in films, and at well-known theatres in the West End. His company also danced for Queen Elizabeth II at her coronation in 1953, and, in two years later, at Windsor Castle.
Surujpat "Pat" Mathura, the son of late Chandar Bahadoor Mathura and Rookmin, was working in his father's printery when he decided to embark upon a career in journalism and radio announcing.
Harold La Borde was a Trinidadian sailor and adventurer who from 1969 to 1973 circumnavigated the world in his 40-ft ketch Hummingbird II. He was accompanied by his wife, Kwailan, and his five-year-old son Pierre. As the first known Trinidadian sailors to cross the Atlantic and later to circumnavigate, Harold and Kwailan were awarded the nation's highest honour – the Gold Trinity Cross.
Ralph Anthony Charles de Boissière was a Trinidad-born Australian social realist novelist. Described as "an outspoken opponent of racism, injustice, greed and corruption, a passionate humanist with a vision of a just society", he was the author of four novels although most acclaimed for the first two: Crown Jewel and Rum and Coca-Cola, both originally published in the 1950s. A fifth novel called Homeless in Paradise remains unpublished.
Philip Louis Ulric Cross was a Trinidadian jurist, diplomat and Royal Air Force (RAF) navigator. He is recognised as possibly the most decorated West Indian of World War II.
Women in Trinidad and Tobago are women who were born in, who live in, or are from Trinidad and Tobago. Depending from which island the women came, they may also be called Trinidadian women or Tobagonian women respectively. Women in Trinidad and Tobago excel in various industries and occupations, including micro-enterprise owners, "lawyers, judges, politicians, civil servants, journalists, and calypsonians." Women still dominate the fields of "domestic service, sales, and some light manufacturing."
Isabella Ribeiro de Cabral (1918–2005) was the first woman of Trinidad and Tobago to earn a pilot's license.
Olive Walke, MBE was a Trinidadian musician and ethnomusicologist who was one of the first to collect regional Caribbean folk songs. She founded the well-known choir, La Petite Musicale and directed it for many years. Between 1961 and 1966, she served as a Senator in the first Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago established after its independence.
Stuart Charles-Fevrier or Stuart Charles Fevrier is a Saint Lucian professional football manager. Born in Curacao, he was raised in Saint Lucia where he is from. Recently, in February 2017, he became assistant coach for the Trinidad and Tobago national football team by a unanimous decision after being shortlisted for manager by the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association technical committee.
