African Personalities 19th Century

Slave Resistance | Abolitionists |

Benjamin Banneker

Benjamin Banneker (1731-1806), an African American mathematician and amateur astronomer, calculated ephemeredes for almanacs for the years 1792 through 1797 that were widely distributed. >>>

African American abolitionist David Walker (1785-1830) wrote Walker's Appeal, urging slaves to resort to violence when necessary to win their freedom. David Walker was born free, of a free mother and slave father, in Wilmington, N.C., on Sept. 28, 1785. He early learned to read and write, and he read extensively on the subjects of revolution and resistance to oppression. When he was about 30, he left the South, because "If I remain in this bloody land, I will not live long. As true as God reigns, I will be avenged for the sorrows which my people have suffered." In 1826 Walker settled in Boston, Mass., where he became the agent for Freedom's Journal, the black abolitionist newspaper, and a leader in the Colored Association. For a living he ran a secondhand clothing store. >>>

Nathaniel Turner

Nathaniel Turner (1800-1831) was a black American who organized and led the most successful slave revolt in the United States. Turner, the "Black Spartacus," escaped and was not caught until October 30. On November 5 he was tried and convicted. Although he admitted to leading the rebellion, when asked how he pleaded, he said "not guilty." Six days later he was executed for trying to free his people from slavery. >>>

Toussaint L'Ouverture

Leader of the Haitian Revolution - Born in 1743, the eldest of eight children born to slaves on the Bréda plantation in northern Haiti. Taught to read and write by his godfather, Toussaint rose quickly in rank among the household slaves, and became first his master's coachman, and then steward of all livestock on the estate. In the early months of 1792 he joined the slave uprising and began to organise the rebellious slaves into a revolutionary army. >>>