One et Respe
The giants of today and tomorrow stand on the shoulders of the giants of yesterday.
Throughout Haitian history iconic and lesser known figures have shaped culture and fostered national pride: men and women who defied odds, uplifted their people, and who have exemplified the best of what Haiti has to offer.
To get where you’re going, you have to know your past. Join us in honoring Haitian heroes and notables past and present.
One et Respe,
Jaffa Scribe
Oswald Durand
Oswald Durand was born in Cap-Haitien in 1840. He lost his parents in the 1842 earthquake and was raised by his grandmother in Ouanaminthe. His formal education ended after two years of secondary school (junior high), and he was largely self-educated. Durand labored as a tin smith until Demesvar Delorme encouraged him to submit his poetry to newspapers. Durand spent a while in prison in 1883 but thereafter served a Member of Parliament for six consecutive terms. Later he worked as the publisher of the country’s main newspaper Le Moniteur and a satirical review Les Bigailles. He received a state funeral upon his death in 1906 after being honored for a year with a pension from the Haitian government.
DO YOU KN
OW: SYLVIO CATOR?
Sylvio Cator
Olympic Medalist / Mayor
Sylvio P. Cator was born in Cavaillon, Haiti on October 28 in 1900. He became a soccer player and played for the Trivoli Athletic Club and the Haitian Racing Club.
The soccer stadium of port-au-prince, the Stade Sylvio Cator, bears the name of Haitian Olympic medalist Sylvio Cator.
On September 9th 1928, Sylvio Cator set up a world record with his leap of 7.93m at the Stade De Colombes in Paris. One month before that in the Amsterdam Olympic Games Cator jumped 7.58 metres and won an olymic silver medal.
Had he only jumped 0.16m further, he would have won the Olympic gold medal.
Sylvio Cator brought the first Olympic medal to Haiti in 1928. Sylvio Cator was the founder of the Club Les Sports Generaux. In 1932 he became the vice president of the Union Des Societes Sportive Haitienne (USSH).
In 1946, Sylvio Cator was elected mayor of Port-au-prince. Sylvio Cator died in Port-au-prince, Haiti, on July 21, 1952. On August 16th 1958 the Republic Of Haiti has issued seven postal stamps wearing the effigy of Sylvio Cator.
They were issued on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the world record realized by Cator on September 9th 1928.
Courtesy: HaitiWhoIs.com
