Tubman, Harriet, c.1820-1913, American abolitionist, b. Dorchester co., Md. Born into slavery, she escaped to Phildelphia in 1849, and subsequently became one of the most successful "conductors" on the Underground Railroad. Returning to the South more than a dozen times, she is generally credited with leading more than 300 slaves (including her parents and brother) to freedom, sometimes forcing the timid ahead with a loaded revolver. She became a speaker on the anti-slavery lecture circuit and a friend of the principal abolitionists, and John Brown almost certainly confided his Harpers Ferry plan to her. During the Civil War, Tubman attached herself to the Union forces in coastal South Carolina, serving as a nurse, cook, laundress, scout, and spy, and in 1863 she played an important part in a raid that resulted in the freeing of more than 700 slaves. At Auburn, N.Y., her home for many years after the war, the Cayuga co. courthouse contains a tablet in her honor.

Monroe, Harriet, 1860-1936, American editor, critic, and poet, b. Chicago. In 1912 she founded Poetry: a Magazine of Verse, which paid and encouraged both established and new poets. Monroe's literary reputation is based on her editorship of this important magazine. She introduced to readers such writers as Carl Sandburg, Rabindranath Tagore, Vachel Lindsay, Rupert Brooke, and Robert Frost. Her own works include several volumes of poetry; her essays Poets and Their Art (1933); the anthology she compiled with Alice Corbin Henderson, The New Poetry (1917); and her autobiography, A Poet's Life (1938).

Martineau, Harriet, 1802-76, English author. A journalist rather than a writer of literature, she was an enormously popular author. Her success is the more remarkable since she was deaf from childhood and the victim of various other illnesses throughout her life. The sister of the Unitarian minister James Martineau, she began her career writing articles on religious subjects. Her fame spread with Illustrations of Political Economy (9 vol., 1832-34) and Illustrations of Taxation (1834), two series of stories interpreting classical economics to the layman. After a visit to the United States in 1834, she became an advocate for the abolition of slavery and wrote several unflattering works on the American way of life, including Society in America (1837) and Retrospect of Western Travel (1838). Her later writings include Deerbrook (1839), a novel; The Playfellow (4 vol., 1841), tales for children; Letters on Mesmerism (1845); The Positive Philosophy of Auguste Comte (1853); and a very candid autobiography (1877), containing commentaries on the literary figures of her day.

orig. Arminta Ross

(born circa 1820, Dorchester county, Md., U.S.—died March 10, 1913, Auburn, N.Y.) U.S. abolitionist. Born into slavery, she escaped to the North by the Underground Railroad in 1849. She made frequent trips into the South to lead over 300 slaves to freedom, despite large rewards offered for her arrest. Known as the “Moses of her people,” she was admired by abolitionists such as John Brown, who called her General Tubman. In the American Civil War, she served as a nurse, laundress, and spy for Union forces in South Carolina. She later settled in Auburn, N.Y., and was eventually granted a federal pension for her war work.

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orig. Harriet Elizabeth Beecher

(born June 14, 1811, Litchfield, Conn., U.S.—died July 1, 1896, Hartford, Conn.) U.S. writer and philanthropist. Stowe was the daughter of the famous Congregationalist minister Lyman Beecher (1775–1863) and the sister of Henry Ward Beecher and Catharine Esther Beecher. She taught school in Hartford and in Cincinnati, where she came into contact with fugitive slaves and learned about life in the South, and later settled in Maine with her husband, a professor of theology. Her antislavery novel Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852) had so great an impact that it was often cited (by Abraham Lincoln, among others) among the causes of the American Civil War. Her other works include the novels Dred (1856), also against slavery, and The Minister's Wooing (1859).

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(born Dec. 23, 1860, Chicago, Ill., U.S.—died Sept. 26, 1936, Arequipa, Peru) U.S. editor. She worked on various newspapers in the city as an art and drama critic while privately writing verse and verse plays. In 1912 she founded Poetry magazine, securing the backing of wealthy patrons and inviting contributions from a wide range of poets. Monroe's open-minded editorial policy and awareness of the importance of the Modernist revolution in contemporary poetry made her a major influence in its development.

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(born June 12, 1802, Norwich, Norfolk, Eng.—died June 27, 1876, near Ambleside, Westmorland) English essayist, novelist, and economic and historical writer. She first gained a large reading public with a series popularizing classical economics, published in several collections (1832–34). Her chief historical work was The History of the Thirty Years' Peace, A.D. 1816–1846 (1849), a widely read popular treatment. Her most scholarly work is a condensed translation of The Positive Philosophy of Auguste Comte (1853). Her best-regarded novel is Deerbrook (1839).

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orig. Arminta Ross

(born circa 1820, Dorchester county, Md., U.S.—died March 10, 1913, Auburn, N.Y.) U.S. abolitionist. Born into slavery, she escaped to the North by the Underground Railroad in 1849. She made frequent trips into the South to lead over 300 slaves to freedom, despite large rewards offered for her arrest. Known as the “Moses of her people,” she was admired by abolitionists such as John Brown, who called her General Tubman. In the American Civil War, she served as a nurse, laundress, and spy for Union forces in South Carolina. She later settled in Auburn, N.Y., and was eventually granted a federal pension for her war work.

Learn more about Tubman, Harriet with a free trial on Britannica.com.

(born Dec. 23, 1860, Chicago, Ill., U.S.—died Sept. 26, 1936, Arequipa, Peru) U.S. editor. She worked on various newspapers in the city as an art and drama critic while privately writing verse and verse plays. In 1912 she founded Poetry magazine, securing the backing of wealthy patrons and inviting contributions from a wide range of poets. Monroe's open-minded editorial policy and awareness of the importance of the Modernist revolution in contemporary poetry made her a major influence in its development.

Learn more about Monroe, Harriet with a free trial on Britannica.com.

(born June 12, 1802, Norwich, Norfolk, Eng.—died June 27, 1876, near Ambleside, Westmorland) English essayist, novelist, and economic and historical writer. She first gained a large reading public with a series popularizing classical economics, published in several collections (1832–34). Her chief historical work was The History of the Thirty Years' Peace, A.D. 1816–1846 (1849), a widely read popular treatment. Her most scholarly work is a condensed translation of The Positive Philosophy of Auguste Comte (1853). Her best-regarded novel is Deerbrook (1839).

Learn more about Martineau, Harriet with a free trial on Britannica.com.

orig. Harriet Elizabeth Beecher

(born June 14, 1811, Litchfield, Conn., U.S.—died July 1, 1896, Hartford, Conn.) U.S. writer and philanthropist. Stowe was the daughter of the famous Congregationalist minister Lyman Beecher (1775–1863) and the sister of Henry Ward Beecher and Catharine Esther Beecher. She taught school in Hartford and in Cincinnati, where she came into contact with fugitive slaves and learned about life in the South, and later settled in Maine with her husband, a professor of theology. Her antislavery novel Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852) had so great an impact that it was often cited (by Abraham Lincoln, among others) among the causes of the American Civil War. Her other works include the novels Dred (1856), also against slavery, and The Minister's Wooing (1859).

Learn more about Stowe, Harriet Beecher with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Harriet's Magic Hats was a TV series created by ACCESS TV, which aired on Alberta ACCESS TV and TVOntario from 1980 - 1986. The premise was an aunt named Harriet who had a trunk full of magic hats in her attic. Her young niece was transported to a place related to the hat she chose from the trunk. For example, if she wore a chef's hat from the trunk, the girl was transported to a kitchen with professional chefs, where she would learn about the profession. The show was 15 minutes long, and gave children a diverse view of the working world.

Cast

• Lynne Thornton as Aunt Harriet
• Sharon Holownia as Susan
• Frank C. Turner as Ralph the Parrot (Seasons 1-2)
• Ronnie Burkett as Ralph the Parrot (Seasons 3-4)
• Jessica Owen as Jessie (Season 2)
• Carrie Cheverie as Carrie (Season 4)

External links

• Harriet's Magic Hats @ TV.com
• Harriet's Magic Hats