Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass (c. 1818-1895) was an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. After escaping from slavery in Maryland, he became a national leader of the abolitionist movement, gaining fame for his oratory and incisive antislavery writings.

Born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, he was separated from his mother as an infant and raised by his grandmother. He secretly taught himself to read and write - acts that were illegal for enslaved people. At 20, he escaped to the North, changed his name, and began speaking at abolitionist meetings.

His autobiography, 'Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave' (1845), became a bestseller and one of the most influential works of American literature. His oratory was so powerful that skeptics refused to believe he had ever been enslaved.

During the Civil War, Douglass recruited African American soldiers for the Union Army and advised President Lincoln. After the war, he held several government positions and continued fighting for civil rights, women's suffrage, and justice until his death.

He was the most photographed American of the 19th century - deliberately controlling his image to counter racist caricatures - and remains one of the most important figures in American history.