Facts about Walt Whitman

1. 07

   At age 37, Walt Whitman was fired from his position as editor of the Brooklyn Times in 1859 due to his abolitionist views conflicting with the newspaper's pro-slavery stance.

   Walt WhitmanMay 22sharepoliticsjournalismbiography
2. 06

   Whitman's collection Leaves of Grass went through nine editions between 1855 and 1891, with the final deathbed edition containing 389 poems.

   Walt WhitmanMay 21shareliteraturepublicationrevision
3. 05

   Whitman worked as a journalist and editor for the Brooklyn Eagle newspaper from 1846 to 1848, covering local politics and cultural events in New York.

   Walt WhitmanMay 21sharejournalismcareer19th-century
4. 04

   Camden, New Jersey became Walt Whitman's home for the final 19 years of his life, from 1884 until his death in 1892.

   Walt WhitmanMay 21sharebiographygeography19th-century
5. 03

   Paralysis from a stroke in 1873 left Walt Whitman partially disabled for the final 13 years of his life, forcing him to write from a wheelchair.

   Walt WhitmanMay 21sharehealthbiographydisability
6. 02

   During the American Civil War, Whitman volunteered as a nurse in Washington D.C. hospitals from 1862 to 1865, tending to over 100,000 wounded soldiers.

   Walt WhitmanMay 21sharehistorymedicinecivilwar
7. 01

   In 1855, Walt Whitman self-published Leaves of Grass with only 795 copies printed in the first edition.

   Walt WhitmanMay 21shareliteraturepublishingnineteenth-century