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U.S. History

Frederick Douglass was born Feb. 14, 1818 — maybe

While Douglass estimated his birthdate to be in February 1818, the exact date is still unknown, according to historians.

Abolitionist Frederick Douglass
AP
By Douglas Jones
SMS
February 14, 2023

An accomplished author, U.S. official and a diplomat, Frederick Douglass was born enslaved in the state of Maryland.

While he estimated his birthdate to be in February 1818, the exact date was never certain.

Born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, he went by Frederick Douglass in his professional life and chose to celebrate his birthday on Feb. 14 each year.

He wrote three autobiographies, which are considered some of the best sources of information on his life.

Douglass was owned by the superintendent of a wealthy landowner and slaveholder in Maryland named Edward Lloyd. He was separated from his mother, Harriet Bailey, at a very young age, like many enslaved children.

His mother worked on a plantation not far from Douglass, but had to walk 12 miles just to visit her son.

After Douglass escaped from slavery his life took him to various parts of the United States and the world. In 1845 he published his first autobiography, "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave."

Black History Month flag colors

Why do we celebrate Black History Month in February?

February holds the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln, who issued the Emancipation Proclamation, and Frederick Douglass, who was an activist for equality.

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He would later make it into powerful political circles and advocated for the inclusion of Black soldiers into the Union Army during the Civil War, urging those in power to offer better pay and conditions for soldiers and was an advocate for the Fourteenth Amendment to grant Black people citizenship.

Douglass was the first Black U.S. marshal in 1877. He served as the recorder of deeds for the District of Columbia and the U.S. minister resident and consul general to the Republic of Haiti.

He spent his last 17 years at his home in the Anacostia area of Washington, D.C. where his wife Anna Murray Douglass died in the home in 1882 after suffering a stroke.

According to Britannica's official historical record, the former diplomat went on to marry Helen Pitts, his White secretary who was about 20 years younger than Douglass, in 1884.

The union was considered controversial at the time and made headlines in national newspapers.