E. R. Braithwaite

E. R. Braithwaite (1912–2016) was a Guyanese-born British-American novelist, teacher, and diplomat best known for his autobiographical novel To Sir, With Love (1959), which depicted his experiences teaching in London's East End amid racial tensions and was adapted into a popular 1967 film starring Sidney Poitier, earning him the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award. He authored several other notable works on social issues and racial discrimination, including Paid Servant (1962) and Honorary White (1975), while serving as Guyana's first Permanent Representative to the United Nations (1967–1969), president of the UN Council for South West Africa (1968), and ambassador to Venezuela. In 2012, he received Guyana's Cacique Crown of Honour for his literary and diplomatic contributions.