Life span: 05/16/1812 to 01/24/1885TabsLife SummaryFull name: Martin Robinson DelanyPlace of Birth: Charlestown, VABirth Date Certainty: ExactDeath Date Certainty: ExactGender: MaleRace: BlackSectional choice: NorthOrigins: Slave StateNo. of Spouses: 1No. of Children: 11Family: Samuel Delany (father), Pati Delany (mother), Catherine A. Richards (wife) Education: OtherOther Education: Jeffferson College, PA; Harvard Medical SchoolOccupation: MilitaryAttorney or JudgeBusinessmanJournalistRelation to Slavery: Free blackMilitary: Union ArmyUS military (Post-Civil War) Note Cards Martin Robison Delany (American National Biography) ScholarshipDuring the late 1840s [Delany] was co-editor of Frederick Douglass's North Star and traveled as an abolitionist lecturer. His call for black economic self-determination and his critique of the black community's religiosity as an obstacle to achieving that end placed him among the most radical of abolitionists. In 1852 he published his argument for emigration as a means by which black Americans could break free of the psychological and physical domination of whites in The Condition, Elevation, Emigration and Destiny of the Colored People of the United States, which was well received by prominent black leaders but attacked by the white abolitionist press. In 1856 Delany moved to Chatham, Ontario, where a significant number of blacks had settled and where he expected to find more support for his emigrationist views. There he espoused a Pan-African philosophy that joined the destiny of American blacks with those of Africans and West Indians. In 1859 he explored the Niger Valley in West Africa, where he hoped to establish a settlement to grow cotton with free labor in direct competition with the slave South. He described the region and its prospects in his Official Report of the Niger Valley Exploring Party (1861). Although he was warmly received in Great Britain, where he lectured to publicize his venture, his African settlement failed to materialize. Paul A. Cimbala, "Delany, Martin Robison," American National Biography Online, February 2000, http://www.anb.org/articles/05/05-00184.html. Events Date span begin Life span End Event 04/30/1858 04/30/1858 John Brown arrives in Chatham, Ontario for a series of secret meetings 05/08/1858 05/08/1858 At the Chatham Convention in Ontario, John Brown sets up his Provisional Constitution Major TopicsUnited States Colored Troops Documents Images Martin Robison Delany Martin Robison Delany, detail Bibliography Chicago Style Entry Link Crane, Gregg D. "The Lexicon of Rights, Power, and Community in Blake: Martin R. Delany's Dissent from Dred Scott." American Literature 68, no. 3 (1996): 527-553. View Record Penn, Irvine Garland. The Afro-American Press and Its Editors. Springfield, MA: Willey & co., 1891. View Record
Martin Robison Delany (American National Biography) ScholarshipDuring the late 1840s [Delany] was co-editor of Frederick Douglass's North Star and traveled as an abolitionist lecturer. His call for black economic self-determination and his critique of the black community's religiosity as an obstacle to achieving that end placed him among the most radical of abolitionists. In 1852 he published his argument for emigration as a means by which black Americans could break free of the psychological and physical domination of whites in The Condition, Elevation, Emigration and Destiny of the Colored People of the United States, which was well received by prominent black leaders but attacked by the white abolitionist press. In 1856 Delany moved to Chatham, Ontario, where a significant number of blacks had settled and where he expected to find more support for his emigrationist views. There he espoused a Pan-African philosophy that joined the destiny of American blacks with those of Africans and West Indians. In 1859 he explored the Niger Valley in West Africa, where he hoped to establish a settlement to grow cotton with free labor in direct competition with the slave South. He described the region and its prospects in his Official Report of the Niger Valley Exploring Party (1861). Although he was warmly received in Great Britain, where he lectured to publicize his venture, his African settlement failed to materialize. Paul A. Cimbala, "Delany, Martin Robison," American National Biography Online, February 2000, http://www.anb.org/articles/05/05-00184.html.
