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Harriet Tubman, 1913 - Photo from Library of Congress - PD

Harriet Tubman was born as Harriet Ross in Maryland.  She was born into slavery.

Later she won international fame as an Underground Railroad operative.

Working as a field slave, she had just entered her teens when whe was struck in the head by a weight thrown by a field overseer at another slave who was running away.  This caused medical problems and headaches that lasted all her life.

About 1844 she married a free black man named John Tubman, shedding her childhood name.

On March 7, 1849, Edward Brodess, her owner died leaving Tubman and her family at risk of being sold to cover her former owner’s debts.  She decided to leave on her own by using an Underground Railroad that was already in existence.  She made her way to Philadelphia where she worked as a domestic servant to earn money to help the rest of her family escape.

Between 1850 to 1860, she ran between eleven and thirteen escape missions.  These missions rescued about seventy people including brothers, parents and others, while also providing information to about fifty more who found their way to freedom by themselves.

In 1862, Tubman joined Northern abolitionists to support Union activities at Port Royal, South Carolina. She provided badly needed nursing care to black soldiers and hundreds of newly liberated slaves. Her service also included spying and scouting behind Confederate lines.

After the Civil War, Tubman returned to Auburn, New York.  There she began a career as a community activist and suffragist.

She died at the age of 91 on March 10, 1913 in Auburn, New York.

For more information about Harriet Tubman.