A Maryland court rules that enslaved blacks can testify in criminal cases in which enslaved people are the victims.

A Louisiana court, in handing down its decision in Adelle v. Beauregard, declares that a "person of color" is free unless otherwise proven so. It distinguishes between persons of color and Africans, those who are slaves or have an African mother.

Abolitionist Robert Purvis was born on this date. Purvis was involved in the Underground Railroad and helped found the Anti-Slavery Society in Philadelphia.

Abolitionist Charles Remond was born a free Black on this date in Salem, Massachusetts. Remond was the first Black full-time lecturer for the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society.