Norman Washington Manley was born at Roxborough, Manchester, on July 4, 1893.

His parents
Thomas Albert Samuel Manley, and Margaret Ann Shearer, were both of mixed race. He was well
educated and went to Jamaica College.
After graduating, in 1914 he was awarded the Rhodes scholarship to attend Oxford University. By the
time he arrived in England, the First World War had begun. He enlisted as a gunner in the Royal
Artillery leading to a promotion to corporal. Manley survived the war, sadly his brother, Roy, didn’t,
and was awarded the Military Medal. He returned to England and became a lawyer. He fell in love
and married his cousin, Edna Swithenbank, an artist and sculptress, they later had two sons, Douglas
and Michael. Manley returned to Jamaica in 1922 and went on to become one of Jamaica’s leading
lawyers.

For Norman Manley, achievement of excellence was the norm; he was

a world-class high-school athlete, Rhodes Scholar, decorated World War I
military hero, prize man of Gray's Inn, acknowledged as the Caribbean's
finest legal mind, and the first Jamaican to appear before the Judicial
Committee of the Privy Council.
Manley’s involvement in the political life started with the 1938 riots. Workers Unions were
organising frequent strikes and demonstrating poor working conditions. Because of this, they wanted
better pay. It was at this time Bustamante, champion of the workers was arrested after a series of
strikes, and Manley was able to mediate and successfully negotiate on his behalf.
In September 1938, Manley founded the People’s National Party (PNP) and was elected its President
annually until his retirement in 1969, 31 years later.

The People's National Party (PNP) is one of the two leading

political parties in Jamaica. The PNP was one of the many
political parties that arose in the first half of the twentieth
century in those nations struggling for independence from
British colonial rule. It was strongly influenced by the earlier
ideological struggles of Marcus Garvey, the anticolonial
struggles in Africa, and the struggles of the Indian National
Congress.
PNP championed the goal of democratic elections under
universal adult suffrage and political independence for
Jamaica. PNP was formed primarily by leaders of the black
and brown Jamaican middle classes; lawyers, doctors,
teachers, and journalists were heavily represented at its
launching. Chief among these was Norman Washington
Manley (1893–1969), the leading lawyer in the country at that
time and the party president from its inception in 1938 until
his death in 1969.

Manley, along with his cousin Sir Alexander Bustamante, worked towards Universal Adult suffrage
(the right of all adults to vote), Self-government, as well as workers’ rights. Their efforts resulted in
the New Constitution of 1944 granting full Adult Suffrage. When Suffrage came, Manley had to wait
ten years and two terms before his party was elected to office.
He was a strong supporter of the Federation of the West Indies, established in 1958, but when
Bustamante and the PLP withdrew support, Manley called for a referendum in 1961. The vote was
against Jamaica’s continued membership of the Federation. Manley was at the forefront of negotiating
Jamaica’s withdrawal from the union and went on to form a committee working towards a
constitution for separate independence for Jamaica.
He himself chaired the committee with great distinction and then led the team that negotiated the
island’s Independence from Britain even though JLP won the election and led the country into
independence. Manley became Leader of the Opposition in the House of Representatives until he
retired. He was succeeded by his son Michael as President of the Peoples National Party, who later
became Prime Minister.
Illness forced Manley to retire from politics in 1969. He died on September 2, 1969 at the age of 76.
Norman Washington Manley was declared a National Hero on October 18, 1969, and his dedication to
the people can be seen with the memorial on the site of his grave at National Heroes Park Kingston,
Saint John, Jamaica. There are statues of him at North Parade, Palisadoes International Airport. The
Jamaican five dollar coin bears his insignia.

Norman Washington Manley – Jamaica Information Service (jis.gov.jm)

Norman Washington Manley -Jamaica National Hero (itzcaribbean.com)

People's National Party | Encyclopedia.com