John Woolman

Religious Leader

Birthday October 19, 1720

Birth Sign Libra

Birthplace New Jersey

DEATH DATE Oct 7, 1772 (51)

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About

Remembered for his vocal abolitionist stance, this eighteenth century Quaker minister not only fought for an end to slavery, but also led animal rights and anti war demonstrations. His important, posthumously published work, The Journal of John Woolman, was included in the first volume of the Harvard Classics anthology.

Before Fame

Before finding his calling as a minster and activist, he worked in the office of a merchant and went on to become a trader.

Trivia

When he was in his twenties, he convinced a landowner to free a slave.

Family Life

He was born in the New Jersey Colony to a Quaker father named Samuel Woolman. After marrying Sarah Ellis Abbott, he fathered a daughter named Mary and traveled widely throughout the Northeast as a Quaker preacher.

Associated With

His Journal of John Woolman was published in 1909 along with important works by Benjamin Franklin and William Penn.