Editing Lester Bird (section)

==Early life and education==
Bird was born in New York City on February 21, 1938.<ref name="East">Roger East and Richard Thomas, "[https://books.google.com/books?id=Mz-fXRsedPMC Profiles of people in power: the world's government leaders]" (2003). Psychology Press, pp. 16-17.</ref>  Lester and his elder brother [[Vere Bird Jr.]], also a British-educated lawyer, were considered sometime rivals, with ''[[The New York Times]]'' writing in 1990 that Lester had always overshadowed his brother, according to those who have known them both.<ref name="French">Howard W. French, "[https://www.nytimes.com/1990/06/16/world/island-s-hushed-scandals-unhushed.html Island's Hushed Scandals, Unhushed]", ''The New York Times'', 16 June 1990.</ref><ref name="Glass">Robert Glass, "Caribbean Island Focus of International Arms Scandal", Associated Press, 14 May 1990.</ref> He was educated at Antigua Grammar School and was brought up as a [[Methodism|Methodist]]. Bird was a [[cricket]]er in his youth, playing for the [[Leeward Islands]], and a [[long jump]] champion. He won a bronze medal in the long jump at the [[1959 Pan American Games]] in Chicago while representing the [[West Indies Federation|British West Indies]]. He attended the [[University of Michigan]], where he was [[All-American]] long jumper in 1960 and graduated in 1962.<ref name="French"/><ref name="Glass"/> Bird completed his study of law in Britain and was [[called to the bar]] at [[Gray's Inn]] in 1969. From 1969 to 1976, Bird engaged in private practice in Antigua.<ref name="East"/>