Background

Crispus Attucks was born c. 1723 in Framingham, Massachusetts.

Career

Attucks was the leader of a small band of men who, on Mar. 5, 1770, clashed with a detachment of British troops garrisoned in Boston. British troops had been moved into Boston in 1768, an act that aroused great resentment among the citizens. By 1770 the atmosphere was explosive and several encounters between street mobs and the troops had already occurred. It is not known whether Attucks and the other men were attacking the troops or merely protesting their presence. At any rate, the British opened fire on the men and Attucks was the first of five men to be killed. The incident, known as the Boston Massacre, convinced many Americans that the British intended to maintain their control over the American colonies and that they would resort to armed force if necessary. A monument to Attucks and the other slain men stands in Boston Common.

Achievements

• Attucks became an icon of the anti-slavery movement in the mid-19th century.
  
  He was held up as the first martyr of the American Revolution.
  
  He was the first American killed in the American Revolution.

Connections

Father:

Prince Yonger

Mother:

Nanny Peterattucks

References

• Crispus Attucks and African American Patriots of the American Revolution (Spotlight on American History)
• Crispus Attucks (Heroes of the American Revolution)
• First Martyr of Liberty: Crispus Attucks in American Memory
• Black Heroes of the American Revolution (Odyssey Books)
• Crispus Attucks and the Boston Massacre (Jr. Graphic African American History)
• Crispus Attucks: Black Leader of Colonial Patriots (Childhood of Famous Americans)
• Crispus Attucks: A Hero of the American Revolution (Exceptional African Americans)
• Crispus Attucks (Great Americans)