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Date of birth
Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey was a slave in Talbot County, Maryland. His mother was a slave, Harriet Bailey, and father was supposedly a white man. It was rumored to be his master, Aaron Anthony. He had three older siblings, Perry, Sarah, and Eliza. -
Mother Dies
Harriet Bailey had been sold to a man who lived twelve miles from where Douglass lived, and to see her son she would,after her day's work in the field, walk the twelve miles. She visited with him for a short time during the night, walk the twelve miles back to her home. She died when Douglass was about seven. -
Leaves for Baltimore
Frederick Douglass leaves his plantation to go live with Hugh Auld which is a blessing. He lives in Hugh Auld’s household for about seven years. He finds that it is better living, he barely gets whippings, and he gets more food. -
Douglass learns how to read
Frederick Douglass has been staying in Mr. Auld's household for about a year now. His wife, Ms. Auld, starts to teach Douglass how to read the alphabet. This practice goes on for weeks and Frederick gains knowledge on how to read and barely write. When Mr. Auld finds about this he ends it quickly. He says that teaching a slave how to read is dangerous and can lead to disobiedence. -
Hired out to Eward Covey
Douglass is hired out to work for Edward Covey. Covey is known to be a the "slave breaker". He values and takes great pride in this reputation. It is a great change for Frederick coming from Baltimore. To make matters worse Covey is very cruel and has no mercy on the slaves. -
Plans to Escape
During this time Frederick is with Edward Covey the slave breaker. He plans to escape with students of his that he teaches on Sundays. He writes out free admit one tickets for each one. When the police come he quickly burns his and tells the others to say nothing. He is jailed earlier but is released. -
Frederick Douglass escaped slavery
On this certain day Douglass broke away from chains and escaped slavery. He had met a friend Benny and borrowed his sailor papers. This was a dangerous task but that didnt stop both of them. He dressed as a sailor and left Baltimore. He traveled to Delaware and from there took a boat to Philadelphia. Then from Philadelphia, took another train to New York. -
Marries Anna Murray
Just days after Frederick Douglass escaped, he married Anna Murray. They remained together for 44 years, until her death at age 69 in 1882. Frederick and Anna did many things together. For example Anna and Frederick soon began spending time together after beginning at the East Baltimore Mental Improvement Society. A group normally set aside for free black men and women but Frederick was able to join because of his ability to read and write. -
Becomes legally free
Frederick Douglass publishes the first of three autobiographies. To ensure that he is not caputured after writing his autobiographies he flees to England. There he starts an anti-slavery movement. He starts to gain supporters. These supporters buy Frederick his freedom, from his original master, Thomas Auld. -
Advisor to Abraham Lincoln
Frederick Douglass was an adviser to President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War. He believe that the constitutional amendments should be passed to guarantee voting rights and other civil liberties for blacks. Douglass gave powerful speeches for human rights during this period of American history. -
Marries Helen Pitts
Frederick Douglass marries his secretary Helen Pitts. She is a white woman from Honeoye, New York.She is about 20 years younger than Douglass. Sadly Helen's family stopped speaking to her. Frederick's family did not like this idea because they felt his mother would not approve of this. -
The death of Douglass
On this day Douglass had attended a women's rights movement in Cedar Hill, Anacostia. When he arrived home he had a massive heart attack and died soon at the age of 77. Many black public schools did not have school and many people went to go pay their respects. His current wife, Helen Pitts, and his children went with his body back to Rochester, New York.
