Solomon Northup (July 1808–1863?) was a free-born African American who owned land in Hebron, New York.  A violinist as well as a farmer, he traveled to Washington, DC in 1841 in response to an offer to perform with traveling entertainers. Shortly after arriving in DC, he was drugged and kidnapped by slave traders, who sold him as a slave. He was shipped to New Orleans and sold to a planter in Louisiana, where he served on several plantations in the Red River region for 12 years.

His family and friends had no knowledge of him apart from a short message at the outset of his bondage. The systems used to control slaves thwarted his attempts at communication. Eventually, a Canadian working on his plantation helped Northup contact family and friends. They enlisted the help of the Governor of New York, since state law provided for aid to free New York citizens kidnapped into slavery. Northup regained his freedom on January 3, 1853 and returned to his family in New York.

Northup published Twelve Years a Slave in 1853. He gave speeches throughout the Northeast about his experiences to build momentum against slavery. He disappeared in 1857. The circumstances of his death are unknown.