Harper, Fances Ellen Watkins (1825-1911)

Harper, Fances Ellen Watkins (1825-1911), African American writer and antislavery, women's rights, and temperance activist. As a lecturer, activist, poet, and novelist, Harper dedicated her life to promoting social uplift—of women, of African Americans, and of African American women in particular—in as many forums as she could find. In the process, she became one of the best-known and most respected black women of the 19th century.

Harper was born into a free black family in Baltimore, Maryland. She was orphaned at the age of two, and then raised by her uncle, the Rev. William Watkins, director of Baltimore's prestigious Academy for Negro Youth. Harper attended the school, where she studied Greek, Latin, and the Bible. As a result, she was better educated than most other American women of her day, black or white. Harper began writing poetry as a teenager, publishing the poetry collection Forest Leaves before she was 20. Her second career, as an activist, began almost a decade later.

During her lifetime, Harper was commemorated through F.E.W. Harper Leagues, Frances E. Harper Woman's Christian Temperance Unions, and chapters of other organizations that bore her name. Harper was also recognized by the Daughters of America and Patriots of the American Revolution.