Alexander P. Ashbourne was an early inventor. He was born into slavery in Philadelphia around 1820. There are very few documented facts about his personal life. He grew up cutting wheat alongside his family members. In his youth, Ashbourne began to think of more efficient … Read MoreAlexander P. Ashbourne (1820-1915)
Born into slavery about January 1830, John Brown was owned by a leading Southampton County, Virginia planter named Robert Ridley. When Ridley died in 1852, Brown’s wife (whose name is unknown), two daughters and one brother were sold and taken to Mississippi. He remarried about … Read MoreJohn Brown (1830-1900)
Scipio Africanus Jones was a prominent Arkansas African American defense attorney in the late 19th and early 20th century. He opposed Arkansas’s Jim Crow laws and successfully argued cases before the United States Supreme Court between 1913 and 1925. Known for his pro bono work for impoverished African American defendants, Jones … Read MoreScipio Africanus Jones (1863–1943)
On Sunday, September 9th, 1739 the British colony of South Carolina was shaken by a slave uprising that culminated with the death of sixty people. Led by an Angolan named Jemmy, a band of twenty slaves organized a rebellion on the banks of the Stono River. After breaking into Hutchinson’s store the band, … Read MoreStono Rebellion (1739)
Millie Ringold was a gold prospector, boarding house proprietor, and long-time resident of the Yogo mining district in the Little Belt Mountains of central Montana. According to the 1900 census, Millie Ringold—whose names are variously spelled Molly, Ringo, and Ringgold—was born a slave in 1845 in Virginia. By the 1870s she … Read MoreMillie Ringold (1845-1906)
Known to his contemporaries as “The Black Napoleon,” Toussaint L’Ouverture was a former slave who rose to become the leader of the only successful slave revolt in modern history that created an independent state, the Haitian Revolution. Born into slavery on May 20, 1743 in the French colony of Saint … Read MoreToussaint L’Ouverture (1743-1803)
The most widely publicized case of the virtual enslavement of an African American in the 20th century is that of Dora Jones, born Theodora Lawrence Jones in 1890 in Athens, Alabama, the daughter of former slaves Plato Jones, a shoemaker and brick maker, and Lazzie Garrett Jones. As … Read MoreDora Jones (1890-1972)
James Williams, a fugitive from slavery and the author of the only known full-length slave narrative published independently (in California), was born John Thomas in Elkton, Maryland, April 1, 1825. At age thirteen, he ran away from his master, William Hollingsworth, and fled to Pennsylvania. … Read MoreJames Williams (1825- ?)
Bussa Emancipation Statue, Bridgetown, Barbados Image Ownership: Public domain The Bussa Rebellion was the largest slave revolt in the history of Barbados. The rebellion took its name from the African-born slave, Bussa, who led the uprising. The Bussa Rebellion was the first of the three … Read MoreBussa Rebellion (1816)
Hercules Washington by Gilbert Sullivan Image Ownership: Public domain Hercules Washington was the enslaved head cook at George Washington’s Mount Vernon plantation home where he prepared meals for decades for the Washington family and the guests who visit the mansion. Hercules was most likely born … Read MoreHercules Washington (Enslaved Cook of George Washington) (1755?- ?)