Famous Grenadians
Maurice Bishop
Maurice Bishop was born on May 29, 1944, in Aruba to Grenadian parents, Alimenta and Rupert Bishop. The family returned to Grenada in 1950, where Maurice grew up in the Parade and Morne Jaloux communities. He attended Presentation Brothers College, where he was a leader in several school societies and co-founded the Grenada Assembly of Youth after Truth. After secondary school, Maurice worked at the High Court Registry in Grenada before studying law at the University of London in 1963, where he became involved in student organizations and developed an interest in anti-colonial movements.[1]
In London, Maurice met Grenadian nurse Angela Redhead, whom he married, and they had two children. Upon completing law school, Maurice worked as a tax auditor and founded the Legal Aid office in Notting Hill Gate. He maintained close ties with political figures such as Bernard Coard, Kenrick Radix, and Hudson Austin, and in 1973, he returned to Grenada to open a law practice with Radix. Maurice became politically active, joining the Movement of the Advancement of Community Effort (MACE), which later merged to form the New Jewel Movement (NJM).
Maurice's political activism gained attention during the 1970 hospital protest, and the tragic death of his father, Rupert, during a demonstration against the Gairy government in 1974, further fueled his commitment to change. On October 13, 1983, Bernard Coard, with military support, staged a coup and overthrew Bishop's government. Maurice and his ministers were arrested and executed.[2]