By Charles Gladden

BELMOPAN, Fri. July 25, 2025

Even after life, he is celebrated.

Philip Goldson, one of Belize’s greatest national heroes, was honored on his birthday, on Friday, July 25, at the house on Orange Street where he lived when he was in Belmopan.

“Today is his 102nd birthday, July 25, and so we’re opening up the house; but we’re putting that emphasis on the community to come out [and] visit the museum, read the information, recognize a national hero of Belize,” said Sigourney Allen, Research and Education assistant at the Institute for Social and Cultural Research, ISCR-NICH.

The iconic Philip Goldson, a founder and leader of the National Independence Party (NIP), is also recognized for his contributions in being one of the founding members for both of Belize’s current major political parties, the People’s United Party (PUP) and the United Democratic Party (UDP), in the 1950s and 1970s, respectively.

He served in the House of Representatives as the member for the Albert constituency from 1965 to 1998, and twice as a minister.

“He was a member of the nationalist movement, a prominent member with major contributions, given his birthplace. He was born in Belize City, and he grew up on what was known as Majestic Theater Yard. And further down the line, in the late 1940s and 1950s, that was the era in Belize City where a lot of these independence talk, and the move from colonialism, conversations [about] public-need things used to happen,” Allen explained.

“He played a critical part on that journey, and [not] just his life as a minister in government … because that’s something that not many people recognize. He was not just a leader of the Opposition during the time that he had split away from the People’s United Party and joined the NIP … well, formed the NIP; he was also an active member of parliament, and doing work for the community,” she added.

_{Goldson House}

Philip Goldson was an activist, the leading spokesman in Belize against the Guatemalan claim to our territory. When he believed the UDP had strayed to a path that was threatening to the territorial integrity of Belize, he formed the National Alliance for Belizean Rights (NABR) party in the 1990s. Additionally, a talented writer; he was a skilled journalist who was the editor of The Belize Billboard.

“We just try to highlight the reasons why he’s a national hero, then, because of his major contributions to nationalism and development in Belize, especially on the road to independence. We try to keep his contributions, legacy, and memory alive through this museum and other public awareness,” says Allen.

Goldson was honored multiples times throughout his life for his contributions and even after death, as he was celebrated with a bust of himself in 2007, which can be seen entering the namesake highway near Pallotti High School in Belize City.    Goldson’s home was transformed into a museum in 2015.