Author and playwright William Wells Brown was born into slavery near Lexington, Kentucky, and came to Missouri in 1816 with his master, his mother, and brothers and sisters. He served several masters and was frequently hired out until his escape in 1834. Freed from servitude, he spent years helping others escape from slavery as part of the Underground Railroad before becoming a public speaker and writer. His play The Escape; or, A Leap for Freedom (1858) is considered the first play by an African American to be published in America.