On February 24, 1884, a son was born to Robert and Mary Clarke in the district of Blenheim in the parish of Hanover, Jamaica. He was named Alexander.
Like many Jamaicans in the late nineteenth century, he grew up in a rural, isolated community where the economic situation was precarious. He attended Cacoon and Dalmalley elementary schools and we are told that as a teenager he had his own horse and was a good rider.
Alexander was among those young men who were forced to seek employment abroad as jobs were very scarce in Jamaica. Central America and Cuba beckoned those in search of work.
It was during the years that he was living abroad that he changed his surname from Clarke to Bustamante. When Alexander returned to Jamaica in 1933 the name in his passport was now William Alexander Bustamante. He had been away from Jamaica for a long time and he was now nearing fifty. Both public limelight and romance awaited him.
From this point on, his life would have far-reaching effects upon the destiny of the Jamaican nation. The events of 1938 were to be the catalyst which would bring him to the fore as a labour leader and an advocate for the labouring people.
By 1939 the world was on the brink of a Second World War and Jamaica as a British colony could not escape involvement. The war began in September of that year.
In spite of the crisis of wartime, a discussion regarding Jamaica's self-government were not entirely set aside and by 1944 Jamaica was granted a New Constitution and following this, elections based on Adult Suffrage were held on December 14, 1944.
In 1955, a decade after the war had ended; Alexander Bustamante was knighted by Her Majesty the Queen.
After a brief period of Federation (1958-1959) Jamaica gained its Independence from Britain. Sir William Alexander Bustamante had won at the polls against his cousin and rival, Norman Manley of the People's National Party, and would become the first Prime Minister of an independent Jamaica.
In 1969 at the age of eighty-five, Sir Alexander received the Order of National Hero of Jamaica.