Frederick Douglass

1818 – 1895 · died at about 77^[1][2]

Activism & Social Change

Fun Facts About Frederick Douglass

• Frederick Douglass was the most photographed American of the 19th century, and he never smiled for the camera so as not to feed the racist caricature of a happy enslaved person.^[1]
• Douglass was born Frederick Bailey. His surname was suggested by a friend who had been reading Walter Scott's poem The Lady of the Lake, which has characters named Douglas.^[1]
• Douglass did not know his exact birth date, so he chose to celebrate it on February 14, remembering that his mother called him her "Little Valentine."^[1]
• Douglass became legally free while lecturing in Britain, when British supporters raised funds to buy his freedom from his American owner.^[1]
• Douglass was the only black person at the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention, the first women's rights convention, where he spoke in favor of women's suffrage.^[1]
• In 1872, Douglass became the first African American nominated for vice president, as Victoria Woodhull's running mate. He was nominated without his knowledge and never campaigned.^[1]
• Frederick Douglass was alive at the same time as James Watt — their lives overlapped for 1 year (1818–1819).^[1][2][3][4]
• Frederick Douglass and Karl Marx were both born in 1818.^[1][2][5][6]

Frederick Douglass was an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. He was the most important leader of the movement for African-American civil rights in the 19th century.^[1]

Contemporaries

Giuseppe Verdi

77 yr overlap

Otto von Bismarck

77 yr overlap

Queen Victoria

76 yr overlap

Susan B. Anthony

75 yr overlap

Florence Nightingale

75 yr overlap

Friedrich Engels

75 yr overlap

Harriet Tubman

73 yr overlap

Louis Pasteur

73 yr overlap

Walt Whitman

73 yr overlap

Herman Melville

72 yr overlap

Franz Liszt

68 yr overlap

Victor Hugo

67 yr overlap

Their World

Questions About Frederick Douglass

When was Frederick Douglass born?

Frederick Douglass was born on February 14, 1818, and died on February 20, 1895.

How old was Frederick Douglass at death?

Frederick Douglass was born on February 14, 1818, and died on February 20, 1895, at age 77.

What was Frederick Douglass known for?

Frederick Douglass was known for: Abolitionist, orator, writer. Frederick Douglass was an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. He was the most important leader of the movement for African-American civil rights in the 19th century.

Who was alive at the same time as Frederick Douglass?

Frederick Douglass's closest contemporary was Giuseppe Verdi. Their lives overlapped for 77 years.