George William Curtis

George William Curtis was an American author, reformer, public speaker, and political leader who was born on February 24, 1824, and died on August 31, 1892. He wanted to end slavery and fight for the rights of African Americans and Native Americans under the law. He also fought for women's right to vote, changes to the way the government works, and public schools. His birthday is February 24, 1824, and he was born in Providence, Rhode Island. The man who raised him was also named George Curtis....See more

George William Curtis was an American author, reformer, public speaker, and political leader who was born on February 24, 1824, and died on August 31, 1892. He wanted to end slavery and fight for the rights of African Americans and Native Americans under the law. He also fought for women's right to vote, changes to the way the government works, and public schools. His birthday is February 24, 1824, and he was born in Providence, Rhode Island. The man who raised him was also named George Curtis. Mary Elizabeth (Burrill) Curtis, his mother, was the daughter of former U.S. Senator James Burrill Jr. She died when George was only two years old. Young George was sent to school in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, with his older brother James Burrill Curtis when he was six years old. He stayed there for five years. After his father got married again and was happy, the boys were brought back to Providence in 1835. They stayed there until around 1839, when they went to New York with their father. After three years, George and James connected with the transcendental movement's ideas and took part in the Brook Farm trial from 1842 to 1843. George lived close to Ralph Waldo Emerson for two years after leaving Brook Farm, in New York and Concord, Massachusetts. See less