*Edward Francis Small
*Edward Francis Small was born on this date in 1891. He was a Black African statesman and union organizer.
Small was born in Bathurst, Gambia, the son of John W. Small and Elizabeth Thomas. Thomas, a Sierra Leonean immigrant, was of the Aku people, as was John. At the time of Small's birth, Africa had already been partitioned by the 1884 Berlin Conference.
Small was initially educated in The Gambia, but due to the lack of a high school, he had to relocate to Freetown, Sierra Leone, for his secondary education. He attended Methodist Boys' High School in Freetown and, in 1910, began teaching at a school there, later moving back to Bathurst in 1915 to continue his teaching career. One of the few educated Africans in the Gambia Colony during the early 20th century, Small founded the country's first trade union (Bathurst Trade Union), the country's first political party (Rate Payers' Association), and was the first citizen elected to its legislature.
He was also a delegate to and leader of the National Congress of British West Africa (NCBWA). Small was appointed to the Legislative Council on December 31, 1941, representing the Bathurst Municipal Council. In 1947, the first direct elections were held for a seat on the Legislative Council. Backed by his trade union, Small defeated I. M. Garba Jahumpa and Sheikh Omar Faye. He was appointed to the Executive Council on December 11, 1947, and January and June 1951. He remained involved in Gambian politics until his death in January 1958.
