Crispus Attucks

Nothing is known of Crispus Attucks's life prior to the day of his death at the hand of British soldiers; it is believed that he was a fugitive slave. What is known about him is that on March 5, 1770, he was one of a group of Boston colonists who began taunting British soldiers. The soldiers fired their muskets into the crowd, killing Attucks. The incident is known as the Boston Massacre, and Attucks was one of the first American patriots to lose his life for independence. In 1888, a monument was erected in Boston to honor his sacrifice.

Web Resources
The Murder ofCrispus Attucks
From the Library of Congress, view a copy of the case against the soldiers who killed Attucks.
http://www.loc.gov/law/help/rare-books/pdf/john_adams_1824_version.pdf

Return to the Encyclopedia of Prominent African Americans.