About

The historian...

David W. Knight, Sr. is a cultural resource consultant, historian and author. He has spent much of his life exploring the primary records of the Virgin Islands and Danish West Indies in libraries, repositories, and archives, both abroad and throughout the Caribbean region. His professional goal has always been to bring the rich historical legacy of the Virgin Islands into sharper focus through broader public access, education, and awareness.

Along with his research and writing, Mr. Knight remains active in preservation advocacy and educational outreach throughout the Territory. He is a former Territorial Chair of the Virgin Islands State Historic Preservation Commission and continues to serve on the St. Thomas-St. John District Committee of the Commission. He is also a past-president of the St. John Historical Society and a lifetime member of that organization.

The author...

Among Mr. Knight’s published reference works are a number of volumes that address Caribbean Genealogy and the Afro-Caribbean Diaspora. Three of these have become standard resources for the field:

St. Thomas 1803; Crossroads of the Diaspora (USVI, Little Nordside Press, 1999).

The 1688 Census of the Danish West Indies; Portrait of a Colony in Crisis (USVI, Little Nordside Press, 1998).

Virgin Island Exodus; The United States Citizen’s Identification Card System of 1918 and the Post-Transfer Quest For Opportunity Under the United States Flag (USVI, Little Nordside Press, 1998 [Second printing 2017]).

In addition, Mr. Knight has published a number of respected historical background studies that address the early United States and Danish-colonial periods in the Virgin Islands. Among them are:

Understanding Annaberg; A Brief History of Estate Annaberg on St. John, U. S. Virgin Islands (USVI, Little Nordside Press, 2002 [Second printing 2017]).

The Enigmatic History of Water Island in the Danish West Indies, 1672 – 1917 (USVI, Little Nordside Press, 2017).

Cruz Bay From Conquest To Exploitation, A Forgotten History (St. Thomas, USVI, Little Nordside Press, 2017).

I believe it is possible to make historic preservation, restoration, and adaptive reuse vital components in a new era of economic growth and prosperity throughout the Virgin Islands.

David w. Knight, sr.