People, Locations, Episodes

Shadrach Minkins, Abolitionist born

*The birth of Shadrach Minkins in 1814 is celebrated on this date. He was a Black fugitive slave.

Born in Norfolk, Virginia, he escaped from slavery in 1849. Minkins settled in Boston, Massachusetts (a Free State), where he became a waiter. In 1850, Congress enacted the Fugitive Slave Law, which allowed federal agents to seize escaped slaves living in Free states and return them to their owners. United States marshals arrested Minkins on February 15, 1851; but he was rescued by force by members of the anti-slavery Boston Vigilance Committee.

The Merikins Community is Established

*The origin of the Merikins is celebrated on this date in 1814. They were African expatriates of the War of 1812, freed black slaves who fought for the British against the American colonies.

Henry ‘Box’ Brown, Abolitionist born

*The birth of Henry Box Brown, in 1815, is celebrated on this date. He was a Black abolitionist and writer.

Jane Swisshelm, News Publisher and Abolitionist born.

Jane Cannon Swisshelm was born in on this date in 1815. She was a White American educator, publisher, and abolitionist.

She was born in Pittsburgh, PA.,and when she was eight, her father died. She helped her mother support the family by lace making and, at the age of 14, as a schoolteacher. In 1836, she married James Swisshelm and moved to Louisville, Kentucky. It was here that she became involved in the campaign against slavery and became a member of the Underground Railroad. In 1848, Swisshelm established her own anti-slavery newspaper, the Pittsburgh Saturday Visiter.

Henry Garnet, Abolitionist born

On this date in 1815, Henry H. Garnet was born. He was a Black theologian and abolitionist.

William C. Nell, Historian born

William Cooper Nell, a Black lecturer, journalist, and historian was born on this date in 1816.

He was born in Boston to William and Louise Cooper. A frequent reader of William Lloyd Garrison’s, “Liberator,” Nell joined the antislavery movement and began working for the Liberator newspaper in the 1840s. At many of the antislavery functions in Boston, he was Garrison’s personal representative. He became active in the Underground Railroad, until ill health forced him to withdraw.

The American Colonization Society is Founded

*The American Colonization Society (ACS) was founded on this date in 1816. Robert Finley established the Society for the Colonization of Free People of Color of America, which was officially established at the Davis Hotel in Washington, D.C. The ACS supported the migration of free American Blacks back to Africa. From 1821 to 1822, the Society helped to find a colony on the Pepper […]

Frederick Douglass, Humanitarian born

*Frederick Douglass was born on this date in 1817. He was a Black abolitionist, orator, and writer who escaped slavery and urged other Blacks to do likewise before and during the American Civil War.

William Lambert, Abolitionist born

*This date in 1817 is celebrated as the birth date of William Lambert, a Black abolitionist and businessman.   William Lambert was born free in Trenton, New Jersey. At least one of his parents was free at his birth. Crucial to his later success, Lambert was taken under the wing of a Quaker schoolmaster. This […]

Elizabeth Keckley, Author, and Abolitionist born

On this date we remember the birth of Elizabeth Keckley in 1818. She was a Black domestic, author, and abolitionist.

Alexander II, Russian Emperor born.

*Alexander II was born on this date in 1818. He was a white Russian Emperor, King of Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland. Born in Moscow, Alexander Nikolayevich was the eldest son of Nicholas I of Russia and Charlotte of Prussia. His uncle, Emperor Alexander I, died childless. Grand Duke Konstantin, the next-younger brother of […]

George T. Downing, Abolitionist born

*George T. Downing was born on this date in 1819. He was a Black abolitionist and businessman.   George Thomas Downing was born in New York City to Thomas Downing and Rebecca (West). His father, Thomas, was born in Chincoteague, Virginia, to parents freed from slavery when their master, John Downing, a prominent planter, converted to Methodism. The […]

Harriet Tubman, Abolitionist, and Naturalist born

*On this date we remember the birth of Harriet Ross Tubman in 1820. She was a Black abolitionist who escaped from slavery and returned to the South repeatedly to lead other African slaves to freedom.

Susan B. Anthony, Abolitionist, and Suffragist born

*The birth in 1820 of Susan B. Anthony is marked on this date. She was a White American abolitionist and woman’s rights advocate.

Thomas Higginson, Abolitionist born.

*On this date, in 1823, Thomas Higginson was born. He was a white-American Unitarian minister, author, abolitionist, and soldier.   Thomas Wentworth Higginson was born in Cambridge, MA. He entered Harvard College at age thirteen and was elected Phi Beta Kappa at sixteen. He graduated in 1841 and was a schoolmaster for two years. In 1842, he became engaged to Mary Elizabeth Channing. […]