Significant Events 1874-1944
1874- Legislation was enacted which introduced the secret ballot.
1883- Mr. W.H.T. Joell, running as a candidate for Pembroke Parish, was elected as Bermuda's first black representative in the House of Assembly.
1888- Bermuda adopted a Executive Council (now Cabinet) and the Legislative Council (now Senate).
1944- The protracted struggle to secure the vote for women ended when the Legislature passed a Bill extending the franchise to women property owners. Four years later, Mrs. Aitken and Mrs. Edna Watson became the first two women elected to Bermuda’s Parliament under the new legislation.
1944- The Bermuda Workers’ Association, under the leadership of Dr. E. F. Gordon was formed. The association fought for trade union rights and was committed to the removal of segregation and the adoption of universal adult suffrage.