People, Locations, Episodes

Robert Benjamin Lewis, Author and Inventor born

*Robert Benjamin Lewis’s birth is celebrated on this date in 1802. He was an African and Native American author, ethnologist, and inventor. He was born in the portion of Pittston, Maine, which later became the city of Gardiner. He was the eldest son of Matthias Lewis and Lucy (Stockbridge) Lewis. Matthias Lewis was either a Mohegan from […]

Wyndham Robertson, Slave Owner, and Politician born

*Wyndham Robertson was born on this date in 1803. He was a white-American politician, slave owner, and businessman. He was born near Manchester, Chesterfield County, Virginia, across the James River from Richmond. His parents were William Robertson and his wife Elizabeth Bolling, descended from Pocahontas and John Rolfe. His paternal grandfather Archibald Robertson emigrated from […]

Sir James Douglass, Statesman, and Businessman born

*Sir James Douglas was born on this date in 1803.  He was a Black Canadian Statesman.  Born in Demerara, British Guiana, he was the son of John Douglas and Miss Ritchie, a “Creole” woman from Barbados.  The couple had three children: Alexander, James, and Cecilia Eliza. John Douglas’ second family was with Jane Hamilton Douglas, and they had […]

William Lloyd Garrison, Abolitionist born

William Lloyd Garrison was born this date in 1805. He was a White American abolitionist and newspaper publisher.

The son of a seaman from Newburyport, MA., Garrison was indentured at the age of 14 to the owner of the Newburyport Herald where he became an expert printer. The struggles of all oppressed peoples for freedom built his kind character as a youth. He expressed this in articles he wrote anonymously or under the pseudonym Airsides, in the Herald and other newspapers. He tried to awaken Northerners from their apathy over the question of slavery in America.

William Goodridge, Businessman, and Abolitionist born

*The birth of William Goodridge is celebrated on this date in 1805. He was a Black businessman and abolitionist.

Lewis Woodson, Minister, and Abolitionist born

*This date in 1806 is celebrated as the birth date of Lewis Woodson, a Black minister and abolitionist.  Born free in Greenbrier County, Va. (now West Virginia). Woodson was the oldest of eleven children born to Thomas and Jemima Woodson, both mulatto slaves who had gained their freedom. Woodson family oral history, dating to the […]

Norbert Rillieux, Engineer, and Inventor born

*This date marks the birth of Norbert Rillieux in 1806. He was an African American inventor and engineer whose patented inventions revolutionized the sugar refining industry.

Jeremiah Hamilton, Financier born

*The birth of Jeremiah Hamilton is celebrated on this date in 1806.  He was a 19th-century Black stockbroker, forger, and financier.  Sometimes called Jerry Hamilton, Jeremiah G. Hamilton was born in Haiti.   His death certificate stated he was born in the West Indies and listed Port-au-Prince as the birthplace of his parents. Hamilton first became […]

Henry Blair, Farmer, and Inventor born

*Henry Blair’s birth is celebrated on this date in 1807. He was a Black farmer and inventor. Blair was born in Glen Ross, Maryland, and little is known about his childhood. In the patent records, Blair is listed as a “colored man,” making this identification the only one of its kind in early patent records. […]

Silas Omohundro Jr., Slave Trader, born.

*Silas Omohundro Jr. was born on this date in 1807. He was a white-American slave trader. Born in Albemarle, Virginia, his father was Richard Omohundro Sr., and his mother was Edith Seay. Omohundro ran a slave trade business from what is now 15th Street in Richmond, VA. As a chattel slave trader, he engaged in the direct […]

Phillip A. Bell, Journalist born

*Philip Alexander Bell was born on this date in 1808. He was a Black journalist and abolitionist.

The Prospect Hill Plantation, a brief story

*The Prospect Hill Plantation is affirmed on this date in 1808. This was a former 5,000-acre plantation in Jefferson County, Mississippi. In the early 19th century, the plantation was owned by planter Isaac Ross of South Carolina, who enslaved African people to farm cotton as a cash crop. In 1830, Ross and other major planters […]

Anne Hampton, Domestic and Chef born.

*Anne Hampton was born on this date in 1808. She was a free Black domestic and chef. She was raised in Hudson Falls, New York, and was of African, Indigenous, and European ancestry. In 1829, she married Solomon Northup, and she gave birth to their children Elizabeth in 1831, Margaret in 1833, and Alonzo Northup […]

Jules Lion, Photographer born

*This date celebrates the birth of Jules Lion, a pioneering Black photographer, circa 1809.   Lion was born in France with mixed heritage and is listed as a free man of color (F M C) in the New Orleans City Directory. He introduced the daguerreotype photographic technic to New Orleans and established himself as an outstanding […]

William Gladstone, Politician and Slaveowner born.

*William Gladstone was born on this date in 1809. He was a white British statesman, slave owner, and politician. Born in Liverpool, William Ewart Gladstone was of Scottish ancestry. He was the fourth son of the wealthy enslaver John Gladstone and his second wife, Anne MacKenzie Robertson. In 1814, young “Willy” visited Scotland for the […]