Frederick Douglass, driven by a hunger for learning and a thirst for liberty, fled slavery as a young adult in Baltimore and devoted his life to ending oppression. Self-educated, he showed through his life that enslaved people had the capacity to live as independent American citizens. Using his sharp mind, forceful speech, and powerful writing, he became an internationally known abolitionist leader, edited the North Star newspaper, operated an Underground Railroad station, crusaded for women's rights, recruited Black soldiers for the Union during the Civil War, and advocated for freedom. He became a best-selling author and orator, served as an advisor to President Abraham Lincoln, U.S. Marshal for the District of Columbia, and Minister to Haiti. In Baltimore he taught himself to read, learned the trade of ship caulking, met his wife Anna Murray, and eventually escaped to freedom in 1838 at age 20 by disguising himself as a sailor and boarding a train to Philadelphia. He later spent his last 17 years at Cedar Hill in Washington, D.C., and his commitment to equality continues to inspire others.