People, Locations, Episodes

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 […]

John Jones, Politician born

John Jones’s birth in 1817 is celebrated on this date. He was a Black apprentice tailor, writer, and politician.

Born a free man in North Carolina, he taught himself to read and write. Jones started his own business and after a long struggle, he became one of the richest Black men in America. Jones used some of his wealth in the campaign against slavery. He moved to Chicago and made his home into an Underground Railway Station.

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.

Denmark Vesey, Abolitionist is Hanged

On this date in 1822, as a result of previous trials, Denmark Vesey and 34 others were hanged in Charleston, S.C.

They were convicted of trying to raise an insurrection in the largest slave revolt in American history. Thirty-two others were condemned to exile, and four white men were fined and imprisoned for encouraging the plot.

The London Anti-Slavery Society is Founded

*The London Anti-Slavery Society was founded on January 31, 1823. Also known as the Society for the Mitigation and Gradual Abolition of Slavery Throughout the British Dominions, it was commonly referred to as the Anti-Slavery Society. It was founded with a meeting of men at the King’s Head tavern in London. The Society aimed to […]

Mifflin Gibbs, Businessman, and Abolitionist born

On this date in 1823, Mifflin Gibbs was born. He was a Black entrepreneur, lawyer, and abolitionist.

From Philadelphia, Mifflin Wister Gibbs was born free and attended grade school until his father died in 1831. To help his mother and three siblings, he drove a doctors carriage prior to becoming a carpenter’s apprentice at the age of sixteen. Throughout this time in his life he was a member of the Philomathean Institute, a Colored men’s literacy society and he was active in the Underground Railroad.

The Demerara Rebellion Begins

*The Demerara Rebellion of 1823 began on this date in 1823. This uprising involving about 12,000 African slaves took place in the British colony of Demerara-Essequibo in what is now Guyana. The rebellion took place a few months after the founding of the Anti-Slavery Society and had a substantial impact on Britain. Although public sentiment […]

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. […]

The American Baptist Home Mission Society is Founded

*On this date, 1824, The American Baptist Home Mission Society was founded. This Christian missionary society was established during the Antebellum South era of America. Its main predecessor, the Home Mission Society, was established in New York City in 1832 to operate on the American frontier. Its mission was “to preach the Gospel, establish churches, and give support and ministry to the unchurched and destitute.” […]