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Lionel Bernard Scot: builder, businessman and early nation builder

A profile of Lionel Bernard Scot (also spelled Scott), the builder, businessman and politician who co-founded the Philipsburg Mutual Improvement Association in 1932 and died in 1966.

By SXM Daily · October 22, 2026

Lionel Bernard Scot was a builder, businessman and politician remembered as one of Sint Maarten's early nation builders. Governor Eugene Holiday named him first in a list of "our early nation builders, such as Lionel Bernard Scot, Melford Hazel, Claude Wathey and Jose Lake Sr." in his Emancipation Day address of 1 July 2020. His name is also often spelled Scott.

Illustrative: Front Street, Philipsburg. Photo: Dr. Thomas Liptak / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Builder and community organiser

The Daily Herald has described him as a "builder, businessman, politician and statesman". In 1932 he was one of the founders of the Philipsburg Mutual Improvement Association (PMIA), according to the association itself and to the historian Will Johnson, who writes that he served as its president.

He was born on 28 January. The date is known because the lecture held in his memory each year takes place on his birthday.

Death and remembrance

Scot died in 1966. The Daily Herald notes that an Antillean postage stamp marked his birthday in January 1974, eight years after his death.

Since 2003 the annual Lionel Bernard Scott Memorial Lecture has been held in his memory around 28 January. The Daily Herald and the PMIA have both reported on the series.

His life is the subject of a biography, Lionel Bernard Scott, A Symbol of Strength, written by former Governor Eugene Holiday, which the Holiday Institute lists in a revised edition from December 2022.

A note on the spelling

The Governor's 2020 address and Will Johnson's writing use "Scot". The PMIA, The Daily Herald and Holiday's book use "Scott". SXM Daily uses Lionel Bernard Scot, also spelled Scott.

Sources

• https://web.archive.org/web/2020/https://www.kabgsxm.com/governors-journal.aspx?id_journal=151&language=EN
• https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/neil-henderson-to-speak-at-lionel-bernard-scott-lecture
• https://sxmelections.com/news/41295/pmia-19th-annual-lionel-bernard-scott-lecture-series-program-on-thursday-january-28th-2021
• https://thesabaislander.com/2020/04/28/lionel-bernard-scot/
• https://www.holiday-institute.com/product/lionel-bernard-scott-a-symbol-of-strength/
• https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:St_Maarten_Philipsburg_Methodist_Church.jpg

Source: https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/neil-henderson-to-speak-at-lionel-bernard-scott-lecture