Welcome! Check out today's deaths, recent deaths, or our deaths stats.

Feeling experimental? Head on over to our newest (and darkest) feature: Next-2-Die™ predictions

Ida B. Wells

African-american civil rights activist (1862–1931).

Born July 16th, 1862 in Holly Springs. [ref]

Died March 25th, 1931 at 68 years old in Chicago (uremia). [ref]

Occupations
human rights activist, journalist, sociologist, suffragette, suffragist, writer
Wikipedia

Ida B. Wells, noted activist and champion of civil rights, died on March 25, 1931 at the age of 68. Born in Holly Springs, Mississippi, in 1862, Ida B. Wells was a gifted student and attended Rust University and Fisk University. After her father died in the epidemic of 1878, she took on a teaching career to support her mother and siblings. In 1891, she settled in Chicago and became a newspaper editor, and soon gained fame for her fierce editorials, especially those that addressed racial injustice. Wells went on to become an influential champion for civil rights, founding and leading several organizations and initiatives. In 1895, she and a group of African-American women formed the National Association of Colored Women, the first such society for Black women in the United States. Later, she helped organize and lead the anti-lynching campaign of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Wells was also a fierce advocate for women’s rights, successfully leading the campaign for Illinois to pass a law in 1913 that allowed women to serve on juries. Her legacy continues today, as her work laid the foundation for the civil rights revolution that came in the mid-20th century. Wells' life and work were dedicated to the cause of equality and justice for all.

Death and pain are windows to great insight if you have the strength to look through them. James Pierce