Frederick Douglass
c. 1818 – 20 February 1895
Frederick Douglass (c. 1818-1895) was an American abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman who escaped from slavery in Maryland and became the most prominent African American leader of the nineteenth century. His autobiographies, beginning with the 1845 Narrative, were powerful indictments of slavery, and he later held several federal offices, including U.S. Minister to Haiti. He was also a lifelong advocate of women's suffrage.
Lived at the same time
Well-documented people whose lives overlapped with Frederick Douglass.
- Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815–1902) Overlapped 77 years →
- Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901) Overlapped 77 years →
- Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811–1896) Overlapped 77 years →
- Otto von Bismarck (1815–1898) Overlapped 77 years →
- Henry Bessemer (1813–1898) Overlapped 77 years →
- Clara Schumann (1819–1896) Overlapped 76 years →
Life events
Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey was born enslaved on Maryland's Eastern Shore; the exact date is unknown, and he later chose to celebrate February 14, 1818.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgWhile enslaved in the Auld household in Baltimore, Douglass taught himself to read and write, an act forbidden to enslaved people.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgDisguised as a sailor and carrying borrowed seaman's papers, Douglass fled Baltimore by train and boat, reaching New York City in less than 24 hours.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgDouglass married Anna Murray, a free Black woman who had helped finance his escape; they settled in New Bedford, Massachusetts.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgHis first autobiography became an immediate bestseller and one of the most influential works of abolitionist literature.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgAfter moving to Rochester, New York, Douglass began publishing The North Star, whose motto was 'Right is of no Sex - Truth is of no Color'.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgDouglass was the only African American to attend the first women's rights convention, where he argued forcefully for a resolution demanding women's suffrage.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgPresident Rutherford B. Hayes appointed Douglass U.S. Marshal for D.C., the first of several federal posts he held.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgPresident Benjamin Harrison appointed Douglass as the American minister to Haiti, a post he held until 1891.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgDouglass died of a heart attack at his home, Cedar Hill, in Washington, D.C., hours after attending a meeting of the National Council of Women.
Source: en.wikipedia.org