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Harriet Tubman

Harriet Tubman
Harriet Tubman by Squyer, NPG, c1885.jpg
Harriet Tubman c. 1885
Born Araminta Ross
c. 1822
Dorchester County, Maryland, United States
Died March 10, 1913 (aged 90–91)
Auburn, New York, United States
Cause of death Pneumonia
Resting place Fort Hill Cemetery, Auburn, New York, United States
Residence Auburn, New York, United States
Other names Minty, Moses
Occupation Civil War Nurse, Suffragist, Civil Rights activist
Spouse(s)
  • John Tubman (m. 1844–51)
  • Nelson Davis (m. 1869; his death 1888)
Children Gertie (adopted)
Parent(s)
  • Harriet Greene Ross
  • Ben Ross
Relatives
  • Modesty (grandmother)
  • Linah (sister)
  • Mariah Ritty (sister)
  • Soph (sister)
  • Robert (brother)
  • Ben (brother)
  • Rachel (sister)
  • Henry (brother)
  • Moses (brother)

Harriet Tubman (born Araminta Ross; c. 1822 – March 10, 1913) was an American abolitionist, humanitarian, and an armed scout and spy for the United States Army during the American Civil War. Born into slavery, Tubman escaped and subsequently made some thirteen missions to rescue approximately seventy enslaved families and friends, using the network of antislavery activists and safe houses known as the Underground Railroad. She later helped abolitionist John Brown recruit men for his raid on Harpers Ferry, and in the post-war era was an active participant in the struggle for women's suffrage.

Born a slave in Dorchester County, Maryland, Tubman was beaten and whipped by her various masters as a child. Early in life, she suffered a traumatic head wound when an irate slave owner threw a heavy metal weight intending to hit another slave and hit her instead. The injury caused dizziness, pain, and spells of hypersomnia, which occurred throughout her life. She was a devout Christian and experienced strange visions and vivid dreams, which she ascribed to premonitions from God.

In 1849, Tubman escaped to Philadelphia, then immediately returned to Maryland to rescue her family. Slowly, one group at a time, she brought relatives with her out of the state, and eventually guided dozens of other slaves to freedom. Traveling by night and in extreme secrecy, Tubman (or "Moses", as she was called) "never lost a passenger". After the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 was passed, she helped guide fugitives farther north into British North America, and helped newly freed slaves find work.


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