Fun Facts About Harriet Tubman
- Harriet Tubman is widely credited as the first woman to lead an armed military operation in the United States: the Combahee Ferry raid, which freed more than 700 enslaved people.[1]
- Tubman was born Araminta "Minty" Ross and later took her mother's name, Harriet.[1]
- Once, meeting a former enslaver on the road, Tubman yanked the strings on two live chickens she carried so their fuss let her avoid eye contact.[1]
- Tubman started her rescues on Saturday evenings, because newspapers would not print runaway notices until Monday morning.[1]
- The abolitionist John Brown called her "General Tubman."[1]
- For over three years of Union service as a spy, scout and nurse, Tubman was paid a total of just $200.[1]
- Harriet Tubman and Pablo Picasso were alive at the same time for more than 31 years.[1][2][3][4]
- Harriet Tubman was alive at the same time as Alan Turing — their lives overlapped for 1 year (1912–1913).[1][2][5][6]
Harriet Tubman was an American abolitionist and social activist. After escaping slavery, Tubman made some 13 missions to rescue approximately 70 enslaved people, including her family and friends, using the network of antislavery activists and safe houses known collectively as the Underground Railroad. During the American Civil War, she served as an armed scout and spy for the Union Army. In her later years, Tubman was an activist in the movement for women's suffrage.[1]
Read more on Wikipedia →Contemporaries
Their World
Questions About Harriet Tubman
When was Harriet Tubman born?
Harriet Tubman was born about 1822 and died on March 10, 1913.
How old was Harriet Tubman at death?
Harriet Tubman died in 1913 at about 91 years old (c. 1822–1913).
What was Harriet Tubman known for?
Harriet Tubman was known for: Underground Railroad conductor. Harriet Tubman was an American abolitionist and social activist. After escaping slavery, Tubman made some 13 missions to rescue approximately 70 enslaved people, including her family and friends, using the network of antislavery activists and safe houses known collectively as the Underground Railroad. During the American Civil War, she served as an armed scout and spy for the Union Army. In her later years, Tubman was an activist in the movement for women's suffrage.
Who was alive at the same time as Harriet Tubman?
Harriet Tubman's closest contemporary was Florence Nightingale. Their lives overlapped for 88 years.
Sources
- Harriet Tubman — Wikipedia. Text available under CC BY-SA 4.0
- Harriet Tubman (Q102870) — Wikidata
- Pablo Picasso — Wikipedia
- Pablo Picasso (Q5593) — Wikidata
- Alan Turing — Wikipedia
- Alan Turing (Q7251) — Wikidata
- Portrait: Harriet Tubman (circa 1885).jpg — Wikimedia Commons. Horatio Seymour Squyer, Public domain