60 Facts About Martin Delany

Martin Robison Delany was an American abolitionist, journalist, physician, military officer and writer who was arguably the first proponent of black nationalism.

Martin Delany traveled in the South in 1839 to observe slavery firsthand.

In 1850, Martin Delany was one of the first three black men admitted to Harvard Medical School, but all were dismissed after a few weeks because of widespread protests by white students.

Martin Delany visited Liberia, a United States colony founded by the American Colonization Society, and lived in Canada for several years, but when the American Civil War began, he returned to the United States.

Martin Delany ran unsuccessfully for Lieutenant Governor as an Independent Republican.

Martin Delany was appointed as a trial judge, but he was removed following a scandal.

Martin Delany worked for the campaign of Democrat Wade Hampton III, who won the 1876 election for governor in a season marked by violent suppression of black Republican voters by Red Shirts and fraud in balloting.

Martin Delany was born free in Charlestown, Virginia to Pati and Samuel Martin Delany.

Martin Delany's mother Pati's parents were born in the Niger Valley, West Africa, and were of Mandinka ethnicity.

Martin Delany's father was said to have been a prince named Shango, captured with his betrothed Graci and brought to America as slaves.

When Martin Delany was just a few years old, attempts were made to enslave him and a sibling.

In Pennsylvania, black children were only educated through the elementary grades, so Martin Delany educated himself by reading.

Martin Delany was the daughter of a successful food provisioner, said to be one of the wealthiest families in the city.

Martin Delany continued to study medicine under the mentorship of Dr McDowell and other abolitionist doctors, such as Dr F Julius LeMoyne and Dr Joseph P Gazzam of Pittsburgh.

Martin Delany was inspired to conceive a plan to set up a 'Black Israel' on the east coast of Africa.

Douglass handled the editing, printing, and publishing, while Martin Delany traveled to lecture, report, and obtain subscriptions.

In July 1848, Martin Delany reported in the North Star that US District Court Justice John McLean had instructed the jury in the Crosswait trial to consider it a punishable offense for a citizen to thwart those trying to "repossess" an alleged runaway slave.

Martin Delany's coverage influenced the abolitionist Salmon P Chase to lead a successful drive to remove McLean as a candidate of the Free Soil Party for the Presidency later that summer.

Martin Delany founded his own practice in cupping and leeching.

Martin Delany was one of the first three black men to be admitted there.

Martin Delany became convinced that the white ruling class would not allow Black people to become leaders in society, and his opinions became more extreme.

Martin Delany suggested they should leave and found a new nation elsewhere, perhaps in the West Indies or South America.

Martin Delany strongly criticized racial segregation among Freemasons, a fraternal organization.

Martin Delany worked for a brief period as principal of a colored school before going into practice as a physician.

Martin Delany is rarely acknowledged in the historiography of African-American education.

Martin Delany is generally not included among African-American educators, perhaps because he neither featured prominently in the establishment of schools nor philosophized at length on Black education.

In 1856, Martin Delany moved his family to Chatham, Ontario, Canada, where they remained for nearly three years.

Martin Delany's novel portrayed an insurrectionist's travels through slave communities.

Martin Delany believed that Stowe had portrayed slaves as too passive, although he praised her highlighting the cruelty of Southern slave owners.

In May 1859, Martin Delany sailed from New York for Liberia, to investigate the possibility of a new black nation in the region.

Martin Delany traveled for nine months and signed an agreement with eight indigenous chiefs in the Abeokuta region, in today's Nigeria, that would permit settlers to live on "unused land" in return for applying their skills for the community's good.

However, when Martin Delany decided to remain in the United States to work for emancipation of slaves, the pioneer plans fell apart.

In 1863, after Abraham Lincoln had called for a military draft, the 51-year-old Martin Delany abandoned his dream of starting a new settlement on Africa's West Coast.

The senior Delany wrote to the Secretary of War, Edwin M Stanton, requesting that he make efforts "to command all of the effective black men as Agents of the United States", but the request was ignored.

In early 1865, Martin Delany was granted an audience with Lincoln.

Martin Delany proposed a corps of black men led by black officers, who he believed could serve to win over black Southerners to the Union side.

Martin Delany was commissioned as a major in February 1865, becoming the first black line field officer in the US Army and achieving the highest rank an African American would reach during the Civil War.

Martin Delany especially wanted to lead colored troops into Charleston, South Carolina, the former secessionist hotbed.

When Union forces captured the city, Major Martin Delany was invited to the War Department ceremony in which Major General Robert Anderson would unfurl the very flag over Fort Sumter that he had been forced to lower four years earlier.

Major Martin Delany had recruited black Charlestonians to restore the capacity of the 103rd and 104th regiments and start the 105th regiment of US Colored Troops.

Martin Delany arrived at the ceremony with Robert Vesey, son of Denmark Vesey, who had been executed for starting a slave rebellion.

Martin Delany continued with the planned political rally for Charleston's freedmen, with Garrison and Senator Warner as speakers.

Martin Delany soon published an open letter to African Americans asking them to contribute to a memorial for "the Father of American Liberty".

Two weeks later, Delany was scheduled to speak at another rally, before the visiting Chief Justice Salmon P Chase.

Martin Delany said that two mulattos had informed authorities about Denmark Vesey's plans for a rebellion in 1822 conspiracy, rather than trying to promote racial healing and empowerment between the groups.

Martin Delany was later transferred to the Freedmen's Bureau, serving on Hilton Head.

Martin Delany shocked white officers after the war by taking a strong position in supporting redistribution of land to freedmen.

Later in 1865, Martin Delany was mustered out of the Freedmen's Bureau and shortly afterward resigned from the Army.

Martin Delany established a land and brokerage business in 1871 and worked to help black cotton farmers improve their business and negotiating skills to get a better price for their product.

Martin Delany supported the Freedman's Bank, and traveled and spoke in support of the Colored Conventions Movement.

Martin Delany argued against carpetbaggers and black candidates for office when he saw fit.

Martin Delany unsuccessfully sought various positions, such as appointment as Consul General to Liberia.

In 1874, Delany ran as an Independent Republican for Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina.

Martin Delany was appointed as a trial justice in Charleston.

Martin Delany supported Democratic candidate Wade Hampton in the 1876 gubernatorial election, the only prominent black person to do so.

Partly as a result of black swing votes encouraged by Martin Delany, Hampton won the election by fewer than 1,100 votes.

Martin Delany served as president of the board to organize the voyage.

In 1880, Martin Delany withdrew from the project to serve his family.

Martin Delany's wife had been working as a seamstress to make ends meet.

Martin Delany is interred in a family plot at Massies Creek Cemetery in Cedarville, Ohio, next to his wife Catherine, who died July 11,1894.