The Founders
Catherine Flon
active 1803
The woman who sewed the first flag.
Catherine Flon is one of the best loved figures of the revolution. Tradition says she was the goddaughter of Jean-Jacques Dessalines and that she worked as a seamstress and nurse.
On 18 May 1803, at the Congress of Arcahaie, Dessalines tore the white band out of the French tricolor. Catherine Flon took the blue and the red and sewed them together. The flag she made went into battle that year, and Haiti has celebrated Flag Day on 18 May ever since.
Achievements
- Sewed the first Haitian flag at Arcahaie on 18 May 1803.
- Gave the revolution the symbol it carried to victory.
- Is honored every year on Flag Day, and has appeared on Haitian banknotes.
