Born in Trinidad, Learie Constantine first gained prominence as an outstanding West Indian cricketer. He toured England with the West Indies team in the 1920s and stayed on as a professional with a cricket club in Lancashire. During the Second World War, Constantine and his family were refused service at a London hotel and successfully sued, establishing a landmark case in the battle to end racial discrimination. In 1954, Constantine was admitted to the bar and returned to Trinidad where he entered politics. He served as Trinidad’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom and continued to lobby for reform and an end to racist policies. He received a knighthood in 1962 and became England’s first black Life Peer in 1969.