John Brown Russwurm
John Brown Russwurm (October 1, 1799 – June 9, 1851) was a Jamaican-born American abolitionist, newspaper publisher, and colonist of Liberia, where he moved from the United States. He was born in Jamaica to an English father and enslaved mother. As a child he traveled to the United States with his father and received a formal education, becoming the first black person to graduate from Hebron Academy and Bowdoin College.
John Brown Russwurm | |
|---|---|
| Born | John Brown Russwurm October 1, 1799 Port Antonio, Jamaica |
| Died | June 9, 1851 (aged 51) Cape Palmas, Liberia |
| Education | Hebron Academy and Bowdoin College |
| Occupation(s) | Publisher, journalist |
| Notable credit(s) | Freedom's Journal Liberia Herald |
| Spouse | Sarah McGill Russwurm |
As a young man, Russwurm moved from Portland, Maine, to New York City, where he was a founder with Samuel Cornish of the abolitionist newspaper Freedom's Journal, the first paper owned and operated by African Americans.
Russwurm became supportive of the American Colonization Society's efforts to develop a colony for African Americans in Africa, and he moved in 1829 to what became Liberia. In 1836 Russwurm was selected as governor of Maryland in Africa, a small colony set up nearby by the Maryland State Colonization Society. He served there until his death. The colony was annexed to Liberia in 1857.