Full Name
Date of Birth
Around 1753
Date of Death
December 5, 1784
Place of Birth
Gambia, Africa
Place of Death
Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Education
- Taught by the Wheatley family
Spouse’s Name
- John Peters (m. 1778)
Known Affiliates Names
- John Wheatley (master)
- Susanna Wheatley (master)
Affiliated Organizations’ Names
- John Wheatley (master)
- Susanna Wheatley (master)
Major Events
Brief Biography
Phyllis Wheatley, born around 1753 in Senegal/Gambia, Africa, was an American author and poet who is considered the first African-American woman to publish a book of poems. She was kidnapped at the age of eight and brought to Boston on an enslaved person ship. Upon her arrival, John Wheatley purchased her as a servant for his wife, Susanna. The Wheatleys educated Phyllis, and she soon mastered Latin and Greek, going on to write highly acclaimed poetry. She published her first poem in 1767 and her first book, Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, in 1773. Wheatley married John Peters, a free African American from Boston, in 1778, and had three children, all of whom died in infancy. She passed away on December 5, 1784, in Boston, Massachusetts[1][2][4][5].
Citations: [1] https://npg.si.edu/blog/phillis-wheatley-her-life-poetry-and-legacy [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phillis_Wheatley [3] https://www.ncpedia.org/biography/jacobs-harriet [4] https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/phillis-wheatley [5] https://www.biography.com/authors-writers/phillis-wheatley