Biographies

Phillis Wheatley (ca. 1753-84) The corner of Beach and Tyler streets marks the spot where ships carrying kidnapped Africans would disembark at Beach Street Wharf. In 1761, a sickly, frightened seven- or eight-year-old girl from West Africa who spoke no English was “sold” to John Wheatley as a … [Read more...] about Phillis Wheatley

Rose Finkelstein Norwood (1889-1980) Rose Finkelstein Norwood was an energetic, indefatigable union activist and organizer. She believed strongly in the rights of workers to unionize, and she was part of many strikes and organizing drives in Boston and the wider New England area. She not only … [Read more...] about Rose Finkelstein Norwood

Sarah Josepha Hale (1788-1879) The person who was singularly responsible for the completion of the Bunker Hill Monument was Sarah Josepha Buell Hale, the daughter of a Revolutionary War officer and one of the nineteenth century’s most prominent magazine editors. A native of Newport, New … [Read more...] about Sarah Josepha Hale

Sarah Wyman Whitman (1842-1904) Boston’s Trinity Church in Copley Square features a handsome stained glass window by Sarah Wyman Whitman, a prolific artist who worked in a variety of media, a patron of the arts, and philanthropist who “influenced almost every aspect of creative life in Boston,” … [Read more...] about Sarah Wyman Whitman

Sophie Tucker (1884-1966) Internationally renowned entertainer Sophie Tucker was star of burlesque, vaudeville, screen and television during her lifetime and referred to herself as “the last of the red-hot mamas.” Her signature songs include: “Some of These Days” and “My Yiddishe Mama” both of … [Read more...] about Sophie Tucker

In 1841, Sophia Willard Dana Ripley (1803-61) and her husband, the Unitarian minister George Ripley, founded Brook Farm in rural West Roxbury (which is now part of Boston) on a 200-acre dairy farm. Like many Unitarians, the Ripleys were deeply engaged in the Transcendentalist movement whose roots … [Read more...] about The Women of Brook Farm