Frederick Douglass, c. 1879, (National Archives Identifier 558770)
By John P. Blair | National Archives History Office
This year marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Frederick Douglass, arguably America’s most accomplished African American civil rights leader of the 19th century.
As we recognize the contributions of African Americans during Black History Month, we are reminded that on June 26, 1889, President Benjamin Harrison appointed Douglass to serve as the Minister Resident and Consul General of the United States to Haiti.
Douglass, the abolitionist, author, journalist, and social reformer, was born into slavery with the name Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey around the year 1818 in Talbot County, Maryland. He chose the name Douglass following his first marriage and residence at New Bedford, Massachusetts.
Read more, including President Harrison’s nomination of Frederick Douglass to be Minister Resident and Consul General of Haiti over at the Pieces of History blog.