Robert Smalls

Robert Smalls was an American politician, publisher, businessman and maritime pilot. Born into slavery in Beaufort, South Carolina, he freed himself, his crew and their families during the American Civil War by commandeering a Confederate transport ship, CSS Planter, in Charleston harbor, on May 13, 1862, and sailing it from the Confederate-controlled waters of the harbor to the U.S. blockade that surrounded it. He then piloted the ship to the Union-controlled enclave in Beaufort–Port Royal–Hilton Head area, where it became a Union warship. His example and persuasion helped convince President Abraham Lincoln to accept African-American soldiers into the Union Army.

5 April 1839

Born on the same birth day (5 April): Axel von Fersen the Elder • Caitlin Moran • Chen Yanqing • Habib Elghanian • Hayley Atwell • Jonathan Davies (rugby union, born 1988) • Levon Julfalakyan • Louis VIII, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt • Max Gail • Mitch Pileggi • Pontus Kåmark • Rune Brattsveen • Shin Min-a • Vurğun Hüseynov • Élisabeth Thérèse of Lorraine

Born in the same month (April 1839): Antonio Starabba, Marchese di Rudinì • Carol I of Romania • Nikolay Przhevalsky