Harriet Tubman was born into slavery in 1820 and began working as a house slave at age 6 and later in fields. She married a free black man and worked day and night without seeing family. She was injured saving a field hand from an overseer. Wanting freedom, she escaped to Pennsylvania in 1849 and returned multiple times to rescue over 300 slaves, using strategies to avoid capture. Though illiterate, she outwitted bounty hunters and published her autobiography in 1868, continuing to advocate for others.