7 The 100 Most Influential World Leaders of All Time 7

During the Civil War (1861– 65) Douglass became a
consultant to President Abraham Lincoln, advocating that
former slaves be armed for the North and that the war be
made a direct confrontation against slavery. Throughout
Reconstruction (1865–77), he fought for full civil rights for
freedmen and vigorously supported the women’s rights
movement.
After Reconstruction, Douglass served as assistant
secretary of the Santo Domingo Commission in 1871, and
in the District of Columbia he was marshal (1877–81) and
recorder of deeds (1881–86). Finally, he was appointed U.S.
minister and consul general to Haiti (1889 – 91).

Victoria

(b. May 24, 1819, Kensington Palace, London, Eng.—d. Jan. 22, 1901,
Osborne, near Cowes, Isle of Wight)

A

lexandrina Victoria was queen of the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Ireland from 1837 to 1901 and
empress of India from 1876 to 1901. She gave her name to
an era, the Victorian Age.

Accession to the Throne and
Early Years of Reign

Early Life and Domestic Affairs

The only child of Edward, duke of Kent, Victoria suc-
ceeded her uncle, William IV, in 1837. Initially Queen
Victoria was guided by her first prime minister, Lord
Melbourne, with whom she had a romantic friendship.
In 1839, Victoria met and fell in love with Prince Albert
of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, her first cousin; they were mar-
ried the next year. Marriage to Albert lessened the
queen’s enthusiasm for the influence of Melbourne, who
had resigned in 1839. Albert shifted Victoria’s political