Item
Agent
Phillis Wheatley (1753-1784)
- Summary Label
- The first published African American female author.
- Title
- Phillis Wheatley (1753-1784)
- Date of Birth
- 1753
- Date of Death
-
December 5th, 1784
- gender
- Female
- Hometown or Region
- Senegal
- Freedom Status
- Transition
- Occupation
-
Domestic & Writer
- Biography
-
Phillis Wheatley was born in Senegal, West Africa in 1753. She had a direct perspective on the Transatlantic Slave Trade as she was taken from her home by enslavers in 1761 and sent to America. Taken in by a wealthy Bostonian family, Wheatley showed great promise in learning and writing. Having received schooling from her master Susanna Wheatley, Phillis began drafting poems and odes to fallen historical figures, which grew her popularity as a writer in New England. However, due to her race, publishing of her works was difficult to come by. Large publishing firms would not allow a person of color to gain success in their market. This prompted Phillis to expand her reach in order to obtain interest. In 1773, Phillis traveled to London to finish revising her poem collections. During the trip, she was permitted an opportunity to meet King George III and the Countess of Huntingdon, making her one of the few African Americans at the time to be in the presence of royalty. She was granted publication from these prominent figures during the trip, and began to be published in America during the following months. In November of 1773, Susanna Wheatley passed away, granting Phillis her freedom. She married John Peters, a free black man, in 1778. Phillis worked in servitude for the rest of her life until her death in 1784.
- See Phillis Wheatley Map
- Connected Historical Actor(s)
-
- Benjamin Franklin
- King George III
- Countess of Huntingdon - George Washington
- John Hancock
- John Thornton
- Thomas Hutchinson
- Student Researcher
- Eli James