George Moses Horton | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 1798 Northampton County, North Carolina |
| Died | Unknown after 1883 |
| Occupation | Poet, formally Enslaved |
| Education | No formal education; mostly self-taught |
| Period | Antebellum |
| Genre | Poetry |
| Subject | Freedom |
| Years active | 1828–1867 |
| Notable works | The Hope of Liberty, Naked Genius |
| Spouse | Martha Snipes |
| Children | Free, Rhody |
George Moses Horton (c. 1798–after 1867), was an African-American poet from North Carolina who was enslaved until Union troops, carrying the Emancipation Proclamation, reached North Carolina (1865). Horton is the first African-American author to be published in the United States. (Phillis Wheatley's poetry was published earlier, in the United Kingdom.) He is author of the first book of literature published in North Carolina and was known as the "Slave Poet".