Emory King (February 22, 1931,

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...

, United States – August 14, 2007) was a

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

, and

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

. He served the nation of Belize in a number of capacities, including as National Film Commissioner.

Travel to Belize

In 1953, at the age of 22, King and a group of friends sailed south from the United States on a yacht and were shipwrecked off the coast of Belize, due to the

barrier reef A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups. Co ...

. After recovering, King elected to stay. King notably helped find a home for the German-Dutch Mennonites, who had been expelled from Mexico in the 1950s.

Association with the PUP and media

King found work with the ruling People's United Party, becoming especially close to leader

George Cadle Price George Cadle Price, (15 January 191919 September 2011), was a Belizean statesman who served twice as the head of government of Belize from 1961–1984 and 1989–1993. He served as First Minister and Premier under British rule until inde ...

, and becoming a columnist/editor for the

Belize Times ''The Belize Times'' is a Belizean newspaper published once a week and the official organ of the People's United Party (PUP). It was established in 1956 and sells for BZ$1 Its offices are located at the PUP's Belize City headquarters at 3 Queen S ...

in the 1970s. Also at that time King was named Film Commissioner; he was responsible for bringing several documentaries and films to Belize, working with both the predecessors of Belize's two television stations: Great Belize Television and Tropical Vision Limited. King also had bit parts in several movies produced in Belize, for more see Great Belize Television's article. King also wrote several books, both historical and personal. Among them are Emory King's Drivers' Guide to Belize, The Great Story of Belize series, and others. King was criticized for holding controversial historical views, particularly over the

Battle of St. George's Caye The Battle of St. George's Caye was a military engagement that lasted from 3 to 10 September 1798, off the coast of British Honduras (present-day Belize). However, the name is typically reserved for the final battle that occurred on 10 Septemb ...

, where he clashed with Belizean

Evan X Hyde Evan Anthony Hyde (better known as Evan X Hyde; born 30 April 1947) is a Belizean writer, journalist, media executive and former politician. He publishes and writes for the nation's largest newspaper, ''Amandala'', and oversees its subsidiaries, ...

. He once headed the Belize Historical Society.
Hyde on King and the 1931 hurricane

Family and death

King married his wife Elisa King and had several children, one of whom, Alex, predeceased him. He also had several grandchildren. King died from complications due to cancer on August 14, 2007 at his home in Tropical Park on the Western Highway, east of

Hattieville Hattieville is a village in the Belize District of the nation of Belize. It is located at 17N 88W, at an elevation of above mean sea level, and has a population of about 1,300 people. Hattieville was established as a refugee camp after Hurricane ...

Filmography

References and external links

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Emory King obit by Stewart Krohn

Channel 7 Emory King tribute
{{DEFAULTSORT:King, Emory 1931 births 2007 deaths Writers from Jacksonville, Florida Belizean journalists American emigrants to Belize Belizean media personalities Belizean writers Television executives People's United Party Government of Belize Deaths from cancer in Belize 20th-century Belizean writers 21st-century Belizean writers 20th-century journalists