Discover the Top 13 Fun Facts About Frederick Douglass: Intriguing Insights Beyond His Famous Autobiography

1. Little Valentine's Day Birthday

Before Tinder swipes or heart emojis, Frederick Douglass had his mother's love as his claim to Valentine's Day fame: Turns out, the esteemed abolitionist celebrated his birthday on February 14 as his mother fondly dubbed him her "Little Valentine," despite his actual birth date remaining a mystery between February 1817 and 1818.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

2. Dynamic Duo: Douglass and Woodhull

Before Beyoncé and Jay-Z's power couple status, there was an unexpected dynamic duo in the 19th century: Frederick Douglass and Victoria Woodhull, the original trailblazing team. Surprise, surprise: Frederick Douglass was the first Black person to be nominated for Vice President of the United States in 1872, running alongside Victoria Woodhull on the Equal Rights Party ticket, even though he wasn't directly involved in the campaign and didn't actively seek the nomination.
Source => time.com

Did you know the real-life "Moses" was a fearless woman named Harriet Tubman? She led 19 daring trips to free around 300 slaves through the Underground Railroad! Discover her astonishing story 🚂💪🔗

=> Fun Facts about Harriet-Tubman

3. David Ruggles: Douglass' Caped Crusader

You know how Batman has Alfred? Well, Frederick Douglass had his own caped crusader in the form of David Ruggles: a free Black man from Connecticut who was instrumental in Douglass's escape from slavery, even advising him to change his name and providing him enough cash to travel to his next safe haven - talk about a super sidekick! Ruggles didn't stop there; he helped nearly 600 enslaved individuals to freedom and was an active abolitionist who published his own freedom-fighting newspaper, The Mirror of Liberty.
Source => thereconstructionera.com

4. Marshal of Justice: Douglass' Federal Appointment

If Frederick Douglass were a superhero, he'd probably be called "The Marshal of Justice," with the power to obliterate injustice and uphold the law (along with a really cool cape, of course): In 1877, President Rutherford B. Hayes appointed him as the United States Marshal for the District of Columbia, making him the first African American to hold this position and one of the very few Black individuals during that time to rise to such a high-ranking federal office.
Source => usmarshals.gov

5. British Invasion: Douglass' Freedom Tour

Talk about a British Invasion: Frederick Douglass embarked on a 19-month tour for freedom, swapping tea and crumpets for stirring speeches across the British Isles! The factual crescendo: During that time, he lectured to large audiences from bustling cities to quiet fishing villages, distributed thousands of copies of his slave narratives, and discussed slavery, racism, and lynching. His captivating words resonated so deeply with British abolitionists that they banded together to buy his legal freedom, enabling him to return to the US as a liberated man.
Source => frederickdouglassinbritain.com

6. Jazzy Abolitionist Minister

Who says church can't be jazzy? Frederick Douglass was spicing up the pulpit like an ecclesiastical Louis Armstrong: this abolitionist and well-respected orator was also a licensed minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, serenading congregations with a voice as full and rich as molten chocolate fondue.
Source => blogs.loc.gov

7. Douglass: Presidential BFF

If meeting presidents were an Olympic sport, Frederick Douglass would have the gold medal: This prolific abolitionist recruited soldiers for the 54th and 55th Massachusetts Infantry—including his two sons—and met with President Lincoln twice, first to voice concern about the treatment of Black soldiers and later to discuss a top-secret mission to aid in escaping enslaved individuals. He even scored a VIP invitation to Lincoln's 1865 inauguration, solidifying his place as a key figure in American history, both on and off the presidential radar.
Source => nps.gov

8. Ladies' Man (for Equality)

When Frederick Douglass wasn't busy changing the world, he was quite the ladies' man, or at least, in the vicinity of some wonderful women: Mr. Douglass enjoyed meaningful connections with several women, such as his wife Anna Murray Douglass, business manager Julia Griffiths, and journalist Ottilie Assing, but despite speculation, there's no proof that his commitment to the cause extended to breaking personal barriers with Assing.
Source => math.buffalo.edu

9. Champion of Women's Rights

Whoever said chivalry was dead never met Frederick Douglass! The American civil rights activist moonlighted as a passionate advocate for ladies – but not in the way you might think: Rather than trying to woo them left and right, Douglass considered women equal and encouraged them to be the primary spokespersons for their own movement. A regular attendee of the Seneca Falls Convention, he emphasized the importance of men's support in its early stages but believed that women should always have the final say in advocating for their rights.
Source => blackpast.org

10. Beard Power: Presidential Vote

In a classic case of "vote for me, I've got a beard": Frederick Douglass became the first African American to receive a vote for President of the United States during the Republican National Convention in 1888, showcasing his tireless advocacy for equal rights, anti-slavery efforts, and support for women's rights.
Source => history.com

11. Self-Taught Literacy Superhero

Frederick Douglass never met a letter he didn't like, and he was a true believer in the school of hard knocks: Douglass taught himself to read and write, even setting up a secret Sunday literacy school for fellow enslaved people, where he had over thirty students attending his academy of clandestine knowledge.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

12. Truth-Spreading Newspaper Wizard

Who needs the Daily Prophet when you've got Frederick Douglass at the printing press, spreading truth faster than a Quidditch Snitch: Douglass founded and edited several influential newspapers, including The North Star and Frederick Douglass' Paper, advocating for black self-improvement and women's rights - with the motto, "RIGHT IS OF NO SEX--TRUTH IS OF NO COLOR--GOD IS THE FATHER OF US ALL, AND ALL WE ARE BRETHREN", these 575+ newspaper issues can now be found digitally scanned in the Library of Congress collection.
Source => loc.gov

13. Abolitionist Power Pair: Douglass and Tubman

Before there was a "Dynamic Duo" known as Batman and Robin, there was an abolitionist pair that packed a punch, harder than a Kardashian wedding: Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman joined forces in their fight against slavery, with Douglass even admiring Tubman as one of the bravest individuals he had known, though they were not known to have formed close friendships.
Source => pbs.org