‘To Sir, With Love’; Author ER Braithwaite Passes Away At 104

His international bestseller was inspired from his experience of teaching in the slums of London’s East End.

E. R. Braithwaite dies at 104. (Photo: WikiMedia) 

Guyanese author, educator and diplomat ER Braithwaite who wrote the international bestseller "To Sir, With Love", died at the age of 104. The work was inspired from his experience in the slums of London's East End, where he spent years teaching.

The autobiographical novel, published in 1959, further inspired a popular Sidney Poitier film of the same name.

Braithwaite’s companion, Ginette Ast, told The Associated Press that he became ill on Monday and died at the hospital in Rockville, Maryland.

An author of several fiction and non-fiction books, Braithwaite was schooled in Guyana, the US and Britain. He focused on issues of racism, class, and the contrast between first world and colonised lands in his works.

He was regarded as one of the earliest chronicler of Britain from a non-white’s perspective.

In the 1960s, he served as the newly independent Guyana's first representative at the United Nations. Later, he became ambassador to Venezuela. He also received an honorary medal from his native country for lifetime achievement on his 100th birthday.

(With inputs from AP)