1753-1784
Phillis Wheatley was born in West Africa, circa 1753. She became an internationally known American poet of the late 18th century. She was kidnapped and enslaved at age seven and purchased by a prominent tailor, John Wheatley, in Boston in 1761. She was spared the worst of slavery, but the harsh New England climate caused asthma. The Wheatley family saw that Phillis was a gifted child, and started to tutor her immediately. by Although she received no formal schooling, her progress was amazing. Mrs. Wheatley said that in sixteen months from her arrival, Phillis attained the English language, a great astonishment of all who heard her. In the year 1765, Phillis wrote a letter to the Rev. Mr. OCCOM, the Indian Minister, while in England.
Her first poem, "On Messrs. Hussey and Coffin," was published in 1767, but her reputation was made with the appearance of "On the Death of the Rev. Mr. George Whitefield, 1770" which was published widely in the northern colonies and England. Due to her asthma, Phillis was taken to England in 1773, where she recuperated. The Wheatley family found a publisher for her poetry. The collection, Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, was the first published book of poetry by an African-American woman or man.
