Frederick Douglass, 1818

OTD in 1818, was the date chosen by formerly enslaved abolitionist Frederick Douglass to celebrate as his birthday. Douglass estimated that he was born in February 1818, but his exact date of birth is unknown because he was born into enslavement in Talbot County, Maryland.

Separated from his mother, Douglass was later sent to live in Baltimore around the age of eight, and tasked with looking after a young white child. The child's mother began teaching Douglass to read along with her son, which was illegal at the time, until her husband learned what was going on and forbade it. Douglass then taught himself to read, partly by exchanging bread for lessons from poor white children in the area.

In 1838, while enslaved at a shipyard, Douglass eventually escaped by dressing as a sailor and travelling to Delaware and the New York. He then began life as an active abolitionist and political activist, which he remained until the end of his life in 1895.

Frederick Douglass born - WCH | Stories

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