The former was a slave girl brought from Africa in 1761 and put to service in the household of John Wheatley of Boston.

There, without any training but that which she obtained from her master's family, she learned in sixteen months to speak the English language fluently, and to read the most difficult parts of sacred writings.

She had a great inclination for Latin and made some progress in the study of that language.

Led to writing by curiosity, she was by 1765 possessed of a style which enabled her to count among her correspondents some of the most influential men of her time.

Phyllis Wheatley's title to fame, however, rested not on her general attainments as a scholar but rather on her ability to write poetry.