Harriet Tubman
Harriet Tubman was born into slavery as Araminta Ross in Dorchester County, Maryland. As a child, she suffered a traumatic head injury when an overseer threw a heavy metal weight at another enslaved person and hit her instead, causing lifelong seizures and visions.
In 1849, she escaped to Philadelphia and freedom. But rather than rest in safety, she made the extraordinarily dangerous decision to return south — again and again — to lead others to freedom. Over approximately 13 missions, she guided around 70 people, including her parents and siblings, through the Underground Railroad. She never lost a single passenger.
During the Civil War, Tubman served as a scout, spy, and nurse for the Union Army. She became the first woman to lead an armed assault during the war, guiding the Combahee River Raid that freed more than 700 enslaved people. After the war, she advocated for women's suffrage and established a home for elderly African Americans in Auburn, New York.
"I freed a thousand slaves. I could have freed a thousand more if only they knew they were slaves."— Harriet Tubman
Key Milestones
A Life in Firsts
In Their Words
Notable Quotes
I had reasoned this out in my mind; there was one of two things I had a right to, liberty or death; if I could not have one, I would have the other.
I was the conductor of the Underground Railroad for eight years, and I can say what most conductors can't say — I never ran my train off the track and I never lost a passenger.
I looked at my hands to see if I was the same person. There was such a glory over everything. The sun came up like gold through the trees, and I felt like I was in heaven.
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