Timothy Thomas Fortune
American writer, activist (1856-1928) · United States · On the map · Writers · Died at 71
Timothy Thomas Fortune was an American journalist, newspaper publisher, orator, and civil rights activist who was best known as the managing editor of the The New York Age. Fortune was born into slavery in Marianna, Florida.
Timothy Thomas Fortune is read about 7 times a day, in 4 languages.
A typical day, 30 days to 21 August 2026
The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 60 days, one point a day.
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Photos 7
Emanuel Fortune, Sr.
Jerome B. Peterson (depicted in a 1904 engraving) was an early contributor to the Freeman's editorial pages and later became editor of the paper, which he renamed The New York Age.
The National Afro-American Council meeting in St. Paul, Minnesota, 1902.
Fortune's newspaper, the Freeman, became The New York Age in October 1887.
Engraving of Fortune, 1891
Booker T. Washington (pictured here in 1905) and Fortune were close friends in the late 19th century, but Fortune's alcoholism and Washington's rising prominence led to a fracturing of the relationship by the late 1900s.Awards
About this person
Following emancipation, Fortune's father, Emanuel, got involved in Florida politics and secured Fortune a role as a page in the Florida Legislature, where he developed an interest in politics and a distrust of white politicians. During this time, he learned the printer's trade. In his late teens, he briefly attended Howard University, worked as a printer in Washington D.C., and got married.
