Phillis Wheatley (1753 - 1784) was the first African American poet and first African-American woman to publish her writing. Born in Gambia, Senegal, she was sold into slavery at the age of 7 or 8 and transported to North America. She was purchased by the Wheatley family of Boston, who taught her to read and write, and encouraged her poetry when they saw her talent.
The publication of Wheatley's Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral in 1773 brought her fame, both in England, and the Thirteen Colonies; figures such as George Washington praised her work. Wheatley was emancipated after the death of her master John Wheatley. She married soon after but she and her husband lost two children as infants. After he was imprisoned for debt in 1784, Phillis Wheatley fell into poverty and died of illness, quickly followed by the death of her surviving infant son.
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