Established in 1738, Fort Mose was the first free black settlement in what is now the United States. Located just north of St. Augustine, Florida, Fort Mose played an important role in the development of colonial North America. As Great Britain, France, Spain and other … Read MoreFort Mose, Florida (1738-1820)
Joseph de Bologne was born December 25, 1745 on a plantation near Basse-Terre, on the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe. His mother was Anne Nanon, slave-mistress of his father, the nobleman George de Bologne de Saint-Georges. He was educated in France, where his father became … Read MoreJoseph de Bolonge/Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges (1745-1799)
Absalom Jones was born into slavery in Sussex, Delaware in 1746. He taught himself to read in his early teens from books he purchased by saving pennies given to him by visitors to his master’s home. At the age of sixteen, Jones’ family was separated … Read MoreAbsalom Jones (1746-1818)
Sold into Turkish slavery, Abram Petrovich Hannibal was brought as a black servant to Czar Peter I, known as Peter the Great. He became one of the royal favorites, a general-in-chief, and one of the best educated men in Russia in his era. His great-grandson … Read MoreAbram Petrovich Hannibal (1696?-1781)
As one of the first known sub-Saharan Africans to study at a European university, the freed slave Jacobus Capitein became a celebrity in Holland for his academic and religious achievements and later returned to his homeland to evangelize the indigenous population. Capitein was born on … Read MoreJacobus Elisa Johannes Capitein (ca. 1717-1747)
Anton Wilhelm Amo, also known as Antonius Guilielmus Amo Afer ab Aximo in Guinea, was the first intellectual of African ancestry to study in Germany. He obtained a doctorate degree in philosophy and held lectures at the universities of Halle and Jena. Having spent forty … Read MoreAnton Wilhelm Amo (1703? -1753)
Fraunces Tavern at 54 Pearl Street, New York City, New York, played an important role during the American Revolution. Originally built in 1719 as a home to a New York colonial leader, it was sold at an auction to Samuel Fraunces (1722-95), a merchant of … Read MoreFraunces Tavern (1762- )
Born into slavery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on February 14, 1760, Richard Allen went on to become an educator, writer, minister and founder of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Benjamin Chew, a Quaker lawyer, owned the Allen family, which included Richard’s parents and three other children. … Read MoreRichard Allen [Pennsylvania] (1760-1831)
The First Baptist Church, founded in 1780 by Joshua Morris, emerged in the aftermath of the Great Awakening religious revival movement (1730s-1770s) that spread across the South. In contrast to the other churches in Richmond organized during the same time, the First Baptist attracted both … Read MoreFirst Baptist Church, Richmond, Virginia (1780- )
