Phillis Wheatley

c. 1753 – 5 December 1784

Phillis Wheatley (c. 1753-1784) was an American poet and the first African American author to publish a book of poetry. Enslaved as a child in West Africa and brought to Boston, she learned to read and write and gained international fame with her 1773 collection Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral. She was emancipated shortly after its publication but died in poverty at about age 31.

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Well-documented people whose lives overlapped with Phillis Wheatley.

Life events

Born in West Africa
c. 1753

Phillis Wheatley was born around 1753 in West Africa, likely in the Senegambia region.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Birth ✓
Kidnapped and sold into slavery in Boston
1761

At about age seven or eight she was transported on the slave ship The Phillis and purchased in Boston by John and Susanna Wheatley.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Relocation ✓
Taught to read and write in the Wheatley household
c. 1762

The Wheatley family, particularly their daughter Mary, tutored her in English, Latin, theology, and classical literature.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Education ✓
Published elegy on the death of George Whitefield
1770

Her elegy for the evangelist George Whitefield brought her wide public attention in the American colonies and England.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Achievement ✓
Emancipated from slavery
1773

The Wheatley family freed her shortly after her return from London in 1773.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Personal ✓
Traveled to London with Nathaniel Wheatley
May 1773 – September 1773

She sailed to London in 1773, where she was received by prominent figures and arranged the publication of her book.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Relocation ✓
Published Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral
September 1773

Her collection, published in London in 1773, made her the first African American author of a published book of poetry.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Achievement ✓
Corresponded with George Washington
26 October 1775

She wrote a poem honoring George Washington in 1775, and he replied with praise and an invitation to visit him.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Other ✓
Married John Peters
April 1778

She married John Peters, a free Black grocer in Boston, in April 1778.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Relationship ✓
Died in Boston
5 December 1784

Phillis Wheatley died in poverty in Boston on December 5, 1784, at about age 31.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Death ✓