The Cipriani College of Labour and Co-operative Studies is named after Arthur Andrew Cipriani, a distinguished son of Trinidad and Tobago, born in Port of Spain on 31st January 1875. He was of French-Corsican extraction, who attended St. Mary’s College in Port of Spain as a schoolboy.

Cipriani, one of the most important personalities in the history of Trinidad and Tobago, excelled in many fields, including sports, military service, public service and politics. He was an ardent sportsman. As a schoolboy and young adult, he played cricket and soccer and later in life, he was owner and trainer of thoroughbred horses.

At the outbreak of World War I, he enlisted in the British army. He rose to the rank of Captain in the British West Indies Regiment, itself not part of the British army, but instead reserved for the blacks of the colonies. This unit saw only limited action in the Middle East since it was the policy of the British never to allow black troops to engage in actual fighting against European troops. Captain Cipriani was one of the officers who brought charges against the British authorities that they had discriminated against his black regiment; however, the army dismissed these charges.