Solomon Northup
1807 or 1808–after 1857 · Free-born African American who was kidnapped and enslaved for twelve years, author of Twelve Years a Slave.
Solomon Northup was born in 1807 or 1808 in Minerva, New York, the son of a formerly enslaved man who had been freed, which made Solomon free from birth. He became a skilled violinist. In 1829 he married Anne Hampton, and they had three children. He worked as a farmer and owned land in Washington County, New York, and was also a professional violinist. In 1841 two men offered him work as a musician with a travelling circus and took him to Washington, D.C., where he was drugged, kidnapped and sold into slavery. He was shipped to Louisiana and enslaved on plantations there for twelve years. Finally Samuel Bass, a Canadian working on the plantation, helped get word to New York. With the help of Governor Washington Hunt and the lawyer Henry B. Northup, he regained his freedom in January 1853 and returned to his family. That year he published Twelve Years a Slave. He spoke against slavery and helped others escape on the Underground Railroad. The date and place of his death are unknown.
Solomon Northup is also an author in the library: author page and works.
Faith: Faith not well documented. Source: Wikipedia
Key dates
- 1807 Born free in Minerva, New York
- 1841 Kidnapped and sold into slavery
- 1853 Regains his freedom
- 1853 Twelve Years a Slave published
Fun facts
- He was a skilled violinist who played at well-known hotels in Saratoga Springs, New York. (Source: Solomon Northup (Wikipedia))
Read about them
Grades 9–12
- 12 Years a Slave · In the library
More lives
Edwin A. Abbott · Jane Addams · Louisa May Alcott · Hans Christian Andersen · Jane Austen · Honoré de Balzac
Notes: Northup's birth year (1807 or 1808) and the date and place of his death are unknown; the last records of him date from after 1857.