Douglass Timeline
Scroll to explore a brief timeline of the life of Frederick Douglass.
1895
Dies after speaking at a women’s rights rally in Washington, D.C.
1893
Spends a year in Chicago, representing Haiti at the World’s Columbian Exposition and protesting African-American exclusion at the fair.
1889
Begins two-year post as Minister-Resident and Consul-General to Haiti.
1877
Is appointed U.S. Marshal of the District of Columbia.
1872
Moves to Washington, D.C. after his house in Rochester, New York is destroyed by fire (arson is suspected).
1864
Meets with President Abraham Lincoln to advocate for equal treatment African-American soldiers fighting in the Civil War.
1848
Attends the women’s rights convention in Seneca Falls, New York
1847
Establishes The North Star, the first of his several papers.
1845
Publishes groundbreaking Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, American Slave, the first of his three bestselling memoirs.
1841
Douglass becomes a spokesperson for the Antislavery Society, which fought not only for an end to slavery, but also for women’s rights.
1838
Douglass escapes from slavery, aided in part by his future wife, Anne Murray
1826
After learning the alphabet from his mistress, Douglass became determined to learn how to read and write
1818
Frederick Douglass is born into slavery in Talbot County, Maryland