nPosted on December 17, 2018
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Key Points
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nI love celebrating people’s accomplishments on their birthdays – even if they’ve been dead for a century or more. It’s a nice time to remember their life, on the anniversary of their birth.
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nBut for some people, especially people who lived long ago, we don’t know their birthday. So then I sometimes celebrate their life on the anniversary of their death.
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| Apparently this is NOT a photo nof Maria W. Stewart – because nthere is not known photo of her! The reason this is here is because nthis photo was incorrectly labeled nas a photo of Ms. Stewart; thank nyou to the reader who pointed out nthe mistake. I am leaving the nphoto up so that we can ALL learn nthat the internet has its foibles! This photo depicts Sarah Harris nFayerweather, an African American nactivist, abolitionist, and school nintegration pioneer! |
nSuch is the case today. Maria Stewart was born SOMEtime in 1803, and her parents were African American. You might think, oh-no, enslaved people – but this was in Connecticut, and Miller’s parents were both free, so she was too.
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nHowever, that didn’t necessarily mean her life was easy. When she was just five years old Maria Stewart lost both her parents. So she was sent to live with a minister and his family, and she lived with them as a servant (I’m not sure how early they pressed a duster into her hand, but hopefully not at age 5!). She was not given any formal education until age 15, when she was allowed to attend Sabbath School one day a week. As you can imagine, growing up within a minister’s household and learning mostly at religious classes, Stewart became very devout – which means she had strong religious beliefs.
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nAs a 20-something year old woman, Stewart married – but her husband died just three years later! And some people cheated her out of inheriting anything from him.
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nHowever, Stewart didn’t lie around and feel sorry for herself. Instead, she became a teacher, journalist, lecturer, head matron of a hospital, abolitionist, and women’s rights activist!
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nCheck out some of her accomplishments:
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nMaria W. Stewart was the first American woman known to have spoken to a mixed audience of men and women, black and white.
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nShe was the first African American woman known to have given public lectures.
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nShe was the first African American woman known to have given a lecture about women’s rights.
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nShe was the first African American woman known to have made a public speech against slavery.
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nHooray for Stewart’s courage to speak out!
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nAlso on this date:
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Anniversary of the first Saturnalia Festival
Anniversary of the first Saturnalia Festival n
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nBhutan’s National Day
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nAnniversary of the publishing of A Christmas Carol
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nAnniversary of the discovery of an Aztec calendar stone
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nSecond night of Las Posadas
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nAnniversary of first successful airplane flight
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nMathematician and physicist Emilie du Chatelet’s birthday
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nAnniversary of NYC’s First One-Way Street
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nAnniversary of the cancelation of a UFO Project
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nPlan ahead:
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Check out my Pinterest pages on:
Check out my Pinterest pages on:
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nHistorical anniversaries in December
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nAnd here are my Pinterest boards for:
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nJanuary birthdays
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