About The Right Reverend Percival William Gibson

The Right Reverend Percival William Gibson, MLC, DD, BA, CBE, was born on September 15, 1893 to William Gibson and his wife Esther.

Bishop Gibson received his elementary education at the Mico Practising School, and in 1906 at age 14, was in the first batch of students to sit the scholarship exam for St George’s College and placed first.

His enrollment at St George’s marked the beginning of an outstanding academic career. In his four years at this institution, he never came less than first in any subject and scored at least 90 per cent in every subject. In his third year, he achieved an unprecedented 100 per cent in four subjects and 95 per cent in the other two.

In 1912, at age 19, he entered St Peter’s Theological College and was ordained in 1917. His first post was the curacy at Golden Grove in St Thomas. On December 21, 1918, he was ordained a priest at the Kingston Parish Church, and in 1919, was appointed curate at St George’s Anglican Church in Kingston. His sermons there became a weekly attraction and he energised the religious life of the city by broadening the scope of his ministry to include the staging of plays and concerts and organising the St George’s Men’s Debating Society. His efforts earned him the Musgrave Gold Medal in 1922.

As headmaster of Kingston College, Percival Gibson became “Priest”, first to the boys and over time to the wider community. From the outset “Priest” established that the mission of Kingston College was to produce graduates who were not only proficient in academics but Christian gentlemen and nation-builders as well. By the end of the first decade, the school was well on its way to realising its mission.

In 1955, his tenure as headmaster of KC finally came to an end, when on December 15, he was elected the first African-Jamaican Lord Bishop of Jamaica. That year, he was also appointed a Member of the Legislative Council.

Notably, he was the founder of Kingston College, Glenmuir High School, Bishop Gibson Girls’ School, and Church Teachers’ College.

Extracted from K. Churchill Neita’s article in the Jamaica Observer (February 28, 2021) entitled “Remembering Rt Rev Dr Percival William Gibson (1893 – 1970)”.