National Heroes’ Day is commemorated on October 26 each year to celebrate the lives of the heroes that by their example and significant contributions to the country have changed the history of Antigua and Barbuda for the better. 

The day commemorates the date of October 26, 1736, when Antigua’s first national hero, Prince Klaas, and 131 other slaves were convicted of participating in plans for a slave rebellion in Ottos, St John.

Prince Klaas was broken at the wheel (a form of torture where the limbs are mutilated and the body is left to hang for dead on a spoked wheel, similar to a crucifixion), for masterminding a rebellion, the plan for which was uncovered before Klaas and his followers could act on them.

The remaining heroes are Vere Cornwall Bird, the first prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda, and the first recipient of the title of national hero in Antigua and Barbuda in 1994.

Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards was a champion West Indies cricketer from Antigua and Barbuda and considered among the greatest batsmen of all time. He was awarded the title in 1999.

Dame Georgiana Ellen Robinson, the country’s only female national hero, was in 2006 posthumously awarded for the strides she made in education and public service in Antigua.

George Herbert Walter, former premier of Antigua and Barbuda, became the country’s fifth national hero in 2008.

Lester Bryant Bird, second prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda and son of Vere Bird, was in 2014, named a Knight of the Most Exalted Order of National Hero (KNH), for his contribution to national development as an outstanding sportsman, lawyer and parliamentarian for 38 years.