Olaudah Equiano

Olaudah Equiano was a writer and abolitionist whose autobiography, *The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano*, became a major work of the British antislavery movement after its publication in 1789. Known for much of his life as Gustavus Vassa, he wrote and spoke publicly against enslavement, helped co-found the Sons of Africa, and worked with other campaigners to build opposition to the slave trade. He died in London on March 31, 1797, a decade before Britain abolished its transatlantic slave trade.