Person · 1822–1913
Harriet Tubman
The most famous conductor of the Underground Railroad, who escaped slavery and risked her life again and again to lead others to freedom — then served as a Union scout and spy.
The icon of the [[underground-railroad]] and self-emancipation.
After escaping Maryland slavery in 1849, Harriet Tubman returned to the South roughly 13 times and personally guided about 70 enslaved people to freedom, never losing a single one. Admirers called her "Moses."
During the Civil War she worked for the Union as a nurse, scout, and spy, and in 1863 helped lead the Combahee River Raid that freed more than 700 people — the first woman to lead an armed expedition in the war. She spent her later years advocating for women's suffrage and caring for the elderly poor.