Frederick Douglass Timeline

1818 Feb Frederick Douglass is Born
The son of a slave woman and an unknown white man, "Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey" was born in February of 1818 on Maryland's eastern shore. He spent his early years with his grand...
1824 Douglass Moves to Plantation on Wye River
When Douglass was about six years old, his grandmother walked with him the twelve miles from his childhood cabin to the Wye House plantation where he would begin work as a slave. "Publ...
1826 Douglass is Sent to Baltimore to Live with Hugh Auld
Because Frederick had a natural charm that many people found engaging, he was chosen to be the companion of Daniel Lloyd, the youngest son of the plantation's owner. Frederick's chief fri...
1827 Sophia Auld Teaches Douglass to Read
It was here, under the instruction of Mrs. Auld that young Frederick first learned the alphabet. However it did not last long, for when Mr. Auld discovered these lessons he strictly forba...
1829 Douglass Begins Work in Shipyard as General Assistant
Very soon after I went to Baltimore to live, Master Hugh [Auld] succeeded in getting me hired to Mr. William Gardiner, an extensive ship builder on Fell’s Point. I was placed here to lear...
1831 Douglass Learns of Abolitionist Movement
African-American abolitionist Frederick Douglass first encountered The Columbian Orator around the age of twelve, just after he learned to read. This book he so cherished, that he would c...
1833 Frederick Douglass Works for Thomas Auld in St. Michaels, Maryland
Follow in the footsteps of Frederick Douglass during his teenage years in St. Michaels. Arriving as Frederick Bailey, a rebellious 15 year old, in 1833 and leaving in 1836 determined to a...
1836 Douglass's First Attempt to Escape Slavery
After working for Covey for a year, Frederick was sent to work for a farmer named William Freeland, who was a relatively kind master. But by now, Frederick did not care about having a kin...
1838 Sep 3 Frederick Douglass Escapes From Slavery
On September 3, 1838, abolitionist, journalist, author, and human rights advocate Frederick Douglass made his dramatic escape from slavery—traveling north by train and boat—from Baltimore...
1838 Sep 16 Douglass and Anna Murray Arrive in New Bedford
NEW BEDFORD — The arrival of Frederick and Anna Murray Douglass in New Bedford on Sept. 16 of 1838 was unexceptional, but their four-year stay in the city, as the history books tell, woul...
1839 Douglass Subscribes to The Liberator
Douglass continued traveling up to Massachusetts. There he joined various organizations in New Bedford, including a black church, and regularly attended abolitionist meetings. He subscrib...
1841 Douglass Speaks at Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society Convention
In 1841, Douglass spoke about his slave experiences at a convention of the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society held on Nantucket Island. He impressed prominent abolitionist leaders, includ...
1843 Douglass is Beaten by Mob
In 1843, Douglass participated in the Hundred Conventions project, the American Anti-Slavery Society's six month tour of meeting halls throughout the west. Although Douglass enjoyed his w...
1845 Douglass Publishes Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
Douglass' best-known work is his first autobiography Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, published in 1845. At the time, some skeptics attacked the book and qu...
1845 Oct 20 Douglass Delivers Speech - Intemperance and Slavery
Mr. Frederick Douglass said:—Ladies and Gentlemen,—The first sentiment that presses for utterance, is that of gratitude. I feel exceedingly grateful to my honored friend, the president, f...
1845 Nov 11 Douglass Delivers Address in Ireland
Mr. Douglas(s) (for that is his name) proceeded to address them. He said slavery was a question in which every human being ought to feel a deep interest. It aimed at, and accomplished, th...
1846 May 12 Douglass Delivers London Reception Speech at Finsbury Chapel
Starting in August 1845, Douglass spent two years in Great Britain and Ireland, where he gave many lectures, mainly in Protestant churches or chapels. His draw was such that some faciliti...
1846 Dec 23 Douglass Delivers Address in Leeds, England
Mr. Frederick Douglass, whose appearance was hailed with loud and prolonged cheering[, spoke]. Of his long and eloquent address we can merely present an outline; but we will make our abst...
1847 Dec 3 Douglass Establishes Abolitionist Paper - The North Star
He used his oratorical skills in the ensuing years to lecture in the northern states against slavery. He also helped slaves escape to the North while working with the Underground Railroad...
1848 Douglass Begins Sheltering Escaped Slaves Fleeing North on the "Underground Railroad."
Frederick Douglass was born into slavery on the Eastern Shore of Maryland in 1818, and was given the name Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey (Baly), after his mother Harriet Bailey. Dur...
1848 Douglass Participates in First Women's Rights Convention, Seneca Falls, New York
Frederick DouglassA crowd of about three hundred people, including forty men, came from five miles round. No woman felt capable of presiding; the task was undertaken by Lucretia's husban...
1851 Merger Creates "Frederick Douglass' Paper"
Merges North Star with Gerrit Smith's Liberty Party Paper to form Frederick Douglass' Paper (printed until 1860). Agrees with Smith that the Constitution is an antislavery document, rever...
1855 Douglass Publishes Second Autobiography - My Bondage and My Freedom
As a fugitive in exile, Frederick Douglass attacked slavery. In speeches he spoke of the hypocrisy of freedom-loving slaveholders. To combat propaganda about happy slaves and kind masters...
1859 Douglass Flees to Canada After Harper's Ferry Raid
John Brown and other abolitionist followers raid the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, then in Virginia. He plans to start a slave insurrection and provide refuge for fleeing slaves. Fede...
1863 Feb Douglass Becomes Recruiter for the 54th Massachusetts Infantry
Douglass becomes a recruiter for the 54th Massachusetts Infantry, the first regiment of African-American soldiers; his sons Lewis and Charles join the regiment. Eventually his son Frederi...
1874 Mar Douglass Becomes President of Freedman's Savings and Trust Company
Becomes president of the troubled Freedmen's Savings and Trust Company. Works with the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee to save the bank, which ultimately fails.
1877 Douglass is Appointed U.S. Marshal of the District of Columbia
Frederick Douglass (1818-1895), the most important African American figure of the 19th Century, is appointed Marshal of the District of Columbia by President Rutherford B. Hayes. This was...
1878 Douglass Purchases Cedar Hill House
Frederick Douglass purchased his final home in 1877, and named it Cedar Hill. He expanded the house from 14 to 21 rooms (including a china closet), and purchase additional land to expand ...
1881 Douglass Publishes Third Autobiography - The Life and Times of Frederick Douglass
The 1892 Life and Times is divided into three sections, with the first devoted to "His Early Life as a Slave," the second to "His Escape from Bondage," and the third to "His Complete Hist...
1884 Jan 24 Frederick Douglass Marries Helen Pitts
Douglass marries Helen Pitts, a white woman who had been his secretary when he was recorder of deeds. The interracial marriage causes controversy among the Douglasses' friends, family, an...
1889 Jul 1 Douglass is Appointed Chargé d'Affaires, Santo Domingo
One of the most controversial positions Frederick Douglass took in his later career was to support the annexation of Santo Domingo (today’s Dominican Republic) as a state in the United St...
1889 Jul 1 Douglass is Appointed U.S. Minister Resident and Consul General, Republic of Haiti
Frederick Douglass arrived in Port-au-Prince on this day to serve as U.S. Minister to Haiti. Appointed by President William Henry Harrison, Douglass was minister to Haiti until 1891. Dou...
1893 Jan 2 Douglass Delivers Speech at the World's Fair
"We should not forget that the freedom you and I enjoy to-day… is largely due to the brave stand taken by the black sons, of Haiti ninety years ago…striking for their freedom, they struck ..." —Frederick Douglass, "Lecture on Haiti" address delivered at the dedication of the Haitian Pavilion at the World's Fair
1895 Feb 20 Frederick Douglass Dies
Speaks at a meeting of the National Council of Women in Washington, D.C. Dies suddenly that evening of heart failure while describing the meeting to his wife.