Professor Arthur Thomas Porter III (born 1924) was a Creole

Sierra Leone Creole people

The Sierra Leone Creoles, or Krios, are an ethnic group in Sierra Leone, descendants of West Indian slaves from the Caribbean, primarily from Jamaica; freed African American slaves from the Thirteen Colonies resettled from Nova Scotia; and Liberated Africans from various parts of Africa...

 professor and author of West Indian, Jamaican Maroon and Nova Scotian settler (African American) descent.
Professor Porter's book on the Sierra Leone Creole people, 'Creoledom: A study of the development of Freetown society' is one of the most quoted books on the Creole

Sierra Leone Creole people

The Sierra Leone Creoles, or Krios, are an ethnic group in Sierra Leone, descendants of West Indian slaves from the Caribbean, primarily from Jamaica; freed African American slaves from the Thirteen Colonies resettled from Nova Scotia; and Liberated Africans from various parts of Africa...

s and his book examines their society in a way in which few books had of their time period. Arthur Porter's son, Arthur Porter IV

Arthur Porter (Canada)

Professor Arthur T Porter IV, PC, MD is a Canadian Physician and Director General and CEO of the McGill University Health Centre in Montreal, where he is professor of oncology. He is a Member of the Security Intelligence Review Committee of Canada, a member of the Queen's Privy Council for...

 is medical doctor in Canada.

Background

Arthur Thomas Porter III was born in Freetown, Sierra Leone in 1924 and attended the Cathedral School in Freetown. Arthur knew a number of future successful Sierra Leoneans. Among the less well known was Charles Brown (b. 1923), a student at Prince of Wales School.

Like many Creoles, Porter was of West Indian, Jamaican Maroon, Liberated African

Sierra Leone Liberated Africans

The Sierra Leone Liberated Africans were slaves freed by the British Royal Navy from slave ships on the high seas and brought to Freetown, now Sierra Leone's capital city. The Sierra Leone Creole Settlers and West Indian immigrants called the liberated Africans "Willyfoss niggers"....

, and Nova Scotian settler descent. His great grandfather was Arthur Thomas Porter I, a successful Creole businessman of West Indian and Jamaican Maroon parentage. A.T.P. Porter I father was Guy Porter, a West Indian immigrant to Sierra Leone via England, who became a headman of Kent Village. Guy married a Maroon colonist. Arthur Porter was also of "Settler" or Nova Scotian stock, and his ancestor was a Virginian who arrived via Nova Scotia in Sierra Leone and was among the founders of Freetown. This Settler occupied a house in what the Nova Scotians called Settler Town, Sierra Leone

Settler Town, Sierra Leone

Settler Town, Sierra Leone or Settler Tong in Krio is the oldest part of Freetown, Sierra Leone and was the home of African American ex-slaves . Settler Town was established as a walled town in 1792 between Walpole and East streets...

.

Personal life

He married a woman from Denmark and had two children, Arthur and Emma. Now, Arthur is a grandfather of four girls, Gemma, Fiona, Adina and Charlotte. He lives in Ottawa, Canada and makes frequent trips back to his homeland, Sierra Leone, Africa.

Legacy

Porter's work on Sierra Leonean history is considered to be among the most scholarly work done on the people of his native Sierra Leone. Professor Porter's analysis of the stratification of Creole society is considered the most authoritative work on the development of Creole society, and most scholars reference his book when researching the Creole people. The work he accomplished during his tenure at Fourah Bay College, has made many look upon Professor Porter as one in the mold of Christopher Fyfe, Professor Eldred Jones, Akintola J.G. Wyse

Akintola J.G. Wyse

Professor Akintola J.G. Wyse was a Creole professor of history at Fourah Bay College in Freetown, Sierra Leone, until his death in 2002. Wyse was the author of H.C...

, and Leo Spitzer.

Sources

• http://detnews.com/specialreports/2001/michiganians/porter/porter.htm
• http://www.orientalia.org/books-Freetown.html
• http://www.ecu.edu/african/sersas/Papers/ParakaDanSpring2002.htm
• http://www.orientalia.org/books-Freetown.html
• http://www.muhc.ca/media/ensemble/2004feb/new_ceo/
• http://www.uhmsi.com/Corporate_Info/Board_of_Directors/_Arthur_T__Porter/_arthur_t__porter.html
• http://detnews.com/specialreports/2001/michiganians/porter/porter.htm
• http://www.uhmsi.com/Corporate_Info/Board_of_Directors/_Arthur_T__Porter/_arthur_t__porter.html
• http://books.google.com/books?id=0qtv8Oh0pD0C&pg=RA3-PA479&lpg=RA3-PA479&dq=arthur+porter+sierra+leone+oxford+university&source=web&ots=XBTLsVbIza&sig=CJI7DH67-B5iwe_L-NWY-1ciDLQ
• http://books.google.com/books?id=0qtv8Oh0pD0C&pg=RA3-PA479&lpg=RA3-PA479&dq=arthur+porter+sierra+leone+oxford+university&source=web&ots=XBTLsVbIza&sig=CJI7DH67-B5iwe_L-NWY-1ciDLQ
• http://www.oztion.com.au/vshops/item.aspx?itemid=3207348
• http://detnews.com/specialreports/2001/michiganians/porter/porter.htm
• http://www.muhcfoundation.com/en/arthur_porter_e
• http://www.oztion.com.au/vshops/previewpic.aspx?itemid=3207348&picnum=2&#pic