February was chosen as Black History Month in part to honor the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. (Source)

Frederick Douglass was the most photographed 19th-century American. Let that sink in. (Source)

Douglass has been portrayed onscreen by Don Cheadle and Morgan Freeman, among many others. (Source)

While some slaves used the Underground Railroad to escape, Douglass just boarded a regular train and went from Maryland to New York in less than 24 hours. We guess slaveholders were so busy looking out for that symbolic railroad they forgot to watch the real ones. (Source)

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass was a bestseller, selling 30,000 copies in its first five years in print. It was also translated into French, German, and Dutch. Try to keep up, Charles Dickens. (Source)