Mary Ann Shadd Cary is credited as the first Black female newspaper editor and publisher in North America.
The Google Doodle was illustrated by artist Michelle Theodore in Alberta, Canada.
The Independent reported that today would be Mary Ann Shadd Cary’s 197th birthday.
She was an American-Canadian newspaper editor and publisher, journalist, teacher, lawyer, abolitionist and suffragist.
Born on October 9, 1823, in Delaware, Cary is said to have used their home as a station on the Underground Railroad to shelter escaped slaves.
She graduated from boarding school and worked as a teacher, the Independent continued.
Cary is also celebrated as the second black woman to earn a law degree in the US.
Her historic newspaper The Provincial Freeman was a weekly publication tailored for escaped slaves.
In 1883 Shadd Cary completed her law degree from Howard University after marrying and returning to the US.
As a result of her contributions to society and history, she was honoured as a Person of National Historic Significance by the Canadian government in 1994.
