# Robert Symonette > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Robert_Symonette > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Robert_Symonette.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Symonette > Source revision: 1349526200 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) **Robert "Bobby" Hallam Symonette** (31 January 1925 – 1 March 1998)[1] was a [Bahamian](/source/The_Bahamas) [yachtsman](/source/Yachtsman), businessman and politician. Symonette was an accomplished international yachtsman. He represented the [Bahamas](/source/Bahamas) at five [Olympic Games](/source/Olympic_Games) and won one gold, three silvers, and one bronze at six World Championships. He also served as a [Member of Parliament](/source/Member_of_parliament) and the [Speaker](/source/Speaker_(politics)) of the [House of Assembly](/source/House_of_Assembly) of the Bahamas. ## Early life and family Bobby Symonette was born in Miami[2] on 31 January 1925,[3] into a prominent Bahamian family. His father was [Sir Roland Symonette](/source/Roland_Theodore_Symonette),[3] the first [Premier](/source/Premier) of the Bahama Islands and his mother, the former Thelma Bell Clepper of [Andalusia, Alabama](/source/Andalusia,_Alabama). Symonette attended [Queen's College](/source/Queen's_College,_Nassau) and [Bolles Military School](/source/The_Bolles_School) in Florida, and the [Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)](/source/Massachusetts_Institute_of_Technology)[3] before enlisting in the [US Navy](/source/United_States_Navy) in 1944.[2] He also attended Tufts College.[3] ## Sporting career Symonette was an accomplished international yachtsman. He represented the [Bahamas](/source/Bahamas) at five [Olympic Games](/source/Olympic_Games), at [Melbourne](/source/Melbourne) in 1956, [Rome](/source/Rome) in 1960, [Tokyo](/source/Tokyo) in 1964, [Mexico](/source/Mexico) in 1968 and [Munich](/source/Munich) in 1972. Symonette twice won gold in the 5.5 metre keelboat event at the Sailing World Championships, in [Sydney](/source/Sydney) in 1980 and 1986. He also won silver at three World Championships in 1962 in [Poole, Dorset](/source/Poole,_Dorset), England, in 1973 in [Lysekil](/source/Lysekil), [Sweden](/source/Sweden) and in 1977 at [Bénodet](/source/B%C3%A9nodet), [France](/source/France). Symonette was a founding member of the Nassau Yacht Club and an International Yacht Racing Union judge. Symonette served as President of the Bahamas Olympic Association[4] from 1957 to 1972. In 1977, hosted the International 5.5 Metre Class World Championship and the Scandinavian Gold Cup in the waters off Key Biscayne, FL. ## Business and political career In 1952,[citation needed] Symonette was part of a group of business who bought the Nassau Guardian, one of the countries leading two daily newspapers.[5] In 1956, he was the paper's president.[5] In 1956, Symonette was elected to the [House of the Assembly](/source/Parliament_of_the_Bahamas).[2] In 1967, he was the [UBP](/source/United_Bahamian_Party) representative for the constituency of [Exuma](/source/Exuma).[3] He served as [Speaker](/source/List_of_Speakers_of_the_House_of_Assembly_of_the_Bahamas) of the House[3] from 1962 to 1967. As speaker, he wrote the House's 1964 Manual of Procedure.[6] Symonette was the Speaker of the House during the famous stoppage of Parliament when Lynden Pindling launched the speaker's mace out of the window. In 1958, an exclusive agreement between Symonette's taxi company and the major hotels became the catalyst for the [1958 General Strike](/source/1958_General_Strike),[7] which saw the capital shut down for 3 weeks and would lead to social change in the country. Symonette was also the Chairman of Commonwealth Bank[8] and Chair of the Bahamas First Insurance Company.[9] ## Death and personal life In 1961, he married Diana Critchley McKinney in Greenwich, Connecticut.[10] Symonette died on 1 March 1998 in Nassau.[11] He was survived by his wife and three stepsons.[11] Symonette's half-brother, [Brent Symonette](/source/Brent_Symonette), would later become Deputy Prime Minister of the Bahamas and Deputy Leader of [Free National Movement](/source/Free_National_Movement) (FNM) political party. ## References 1. ["www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/sy/bobby-symonette-1.html"](https://web.archive.org/web/20200418103905/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/sy/bobby-symonette-1.html). Archived from [the original](https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/sy/bobby-symonette-1.html) on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 2 July 2012. 1. Mitchell, Carleton (August 1961). ["Boatman of the Month: Foreman of the Foredeck: Bobby Symonette"](https://books.google.com/books?id=yNuXRe21lj8C&dq=%22bobby+symonette%22&pg=RA10-PA10). *Popular Boating*. **10** (2): 42–46. Carrick, Robert W. (ed.). Richard Manning. – via [Google Books](/source/Google_Books) 1. [*Bahamas Handbook and Businessman's Annual*](https://books.google.com/books?id=lVc3AQAAIAAJ&q=robert+symonette+bolles). Nassau: Etienne Dupuch, Jr. Publications. 1967. p. 141. 1. Barker, Philip (2012-04-15). [*The Story of the Olympic Torch*](https://books.google.com/books?id=jGioAwAAQBAJ&dq=%22bobby+symonette%22&pg=PT59). Amberley Publishing Limited. ISBN 978-1-4456-1028-3. 1. Saunders, Gail (2017). *Race and Class in the Colonial Bahamas, 1880-1960*. Electronic ed. Gainesville, Florida: University Press of Florida. p. 297. ISBN 978-0-8130-5155-0. 1. ["Editorial - A Lesson to be Learned"](https://ufdc.ufl.edu/UF00084249/01330/zoom/3). Nassau, Bahamas: Tribune newspaer. June 8, 2009. p. 4. Retrieved 2025-07-18. – via University of Florida Digital Collections. 1. ["The 1958 General Strike and the Making of the Modern Bahamas - Bahama Pundit"](https://web.archive.org/web/20130528110621/http://www.bahamapundit.com/2012/01/the-1958-general-strike-and-the-making-of-the-modern-bahamas.html). *Bahama Pundit*. Archived from [the original](http://www.bahamapundit.com/2012/01/the-1958-general-strike-and-the-making-of-the-modern-bahamas.html) on 2013-05-28. Retrieved 2025-07-20. The opening of Nassau's international airport in November 1957 was a significant event - but it was accompanied by an even more significant display of greed and political stupidity. A group of major hotels proposed to sign an exclusive agreement with a new taxi company set up by Bobby Symonette, the son of government leader Roland Symonette. 1. Hutchinson, Tanya (May 16, 2011). ["Commonwealth Bank Continues a Tradition of Sloop Sailing Sponsorship"](http://www.thebahamasweekly.com/publish/community/Commonwealth_Bank_Continues_a_Tradition_of_Sloop_Sailing_Sponsorship_printer.shtml). *www.thebahamasweekly.com*. Bahamas Weekly. Retrieved 2025-07-18. Commonwealth Bank Continues a Tradition of Sloop Sailing Sponsorship Commonwealth Bank’s late Chairman, Robert “Bobby” Symonette was an avid helmsman 1. ["Celebrating Forty Years of 'Firsts'"](https://bahamasfirst.com/celebrating-forty-years-of-firsts). *Bahamas First*. Retrieved 2025-07-18. 1. ["Entry for Robert H Symonette and Diana C Mckinney."](https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VWTM-2MC). *FamilySearch*. Connecticut, Marriage Index, 1959-2001. 1960. Retrieved 18 Feb 2025. 1. ["Announcements: Deaths: Symonette, Robert Hallam"](https://www.newspapers.com/image/752264528/?match=1&terms=Robert%20symonette). *[The Daily Telegraph](/source/The_Daily_Telegraph)*. 4 Mar 1998. p. 22. Retrieved 19 July 2025. – via [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com) ## External links - [In Memoriam: MIT Class of 1945](https://1945.alumclass.mit.edu/s/1314/bp19/interior.aspx?sid=1314&gid=199&pgid=2259) at *mit.edu* ## See also - Mitchell, Carleton. "[Boatman of the Month: Foreman of the Foredeck: Bobby Symonette](https://books.google.com.au/books?id=yNuXRe21lj8C&pg=RA10-PA10&dq=%22bobby+symonette%22&hl=fr&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjex5yUnsaOAxXRS2wGHQ2MEMIQ6AF6BAgHEAM#v=onepage&q=%22bobby%20symonette%22&f=false)". Popular Boating. (August 1961) 10 (2). - [*A Crew and Its Skipper*, Time Magazine, 4 July 1960](https://web.archive.org/web/20110523055649/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,869535-2,00.html) 23 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine - [*Consultant's Paradise Lost*, Time Magazine, 8 September 1967](https://web.archive.org/web/20081215131910/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,899770,00.html) 15 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Robert Symonette](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Symonette) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Symonette?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.