Harriet Tubman (1820?-1913) was an African American whose daring rescues helped hundreds of slaves escape to freedom. She became the most famous leader of the underground railroad, which aided slaves fleeing to the free states or to Canada. Blacks called her Moses, after the Biblical figure who led the Jews from Egypt.
Tubman was born a slave in Bucktown, Maryland, near Cambridge. Her name was Araminta Ross, but as a child, she became known by her mother's name, Harriet. Her father taught her a knowledge of the woods that later helped her in her rescue missions. When Harriet was 13, she interfered with a supervisor to save another slave from punishment. The enraged supervisor fractured Harriet's skull with a 2-pound (0.9-kilogram) weight. She recovered but suffered blackouts for the rest of her life. She married John Tubman, a freed slave, in 1844.
Harriet Tubman escaped from slavery in 1849 and went to Philadelphia via the underground railroad, without her husband. She then vowed to return to Maryland and help other slaves escape. Tubman made her first trip back shortly after Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. This law made it a crime to help a runaway slave. Tubman returned 18 more times during the 1850's and helped about 300 slaves escape.
Excerpt adapted from the "Tubman, Harriet," article, The World Book Encyclopedia © 1999