Booker T. Washington was born on April 5, 1856, in Virginia. He was born into slavery and never knew his father. After the Civil War ended slavery in 1865, nine-year-old Booker was free but had nothing. He worked in salt mines and coal mines as a child. But he was determined to get an education. At age sixteen, he walked nearly 500 miles to attend Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute in Virginia. He arrived dirty and tired with almost no money. The school's teacher tested him by asking him to sweep a room. He swept it three times and dusted every surface. She let him in. Washington became a brilliant student and later a powerful speaker. In 1881, he founded Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, a school that taught Black students practical skills like farming and building. He believed education was the path to independence for Black Americans after slavery. In 1901, he published his autobiography, Up from Slavery. The book described his journey from enslaved child to national leader. It became one of the most widely read books in America. Presidents and business leaders sought his advice. His writing showed that one person's story could inspire an entire nation.