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The ‘New York Times’ Corrects 161-Year-Old Article about Solomon Northup

The ‘New York Times’ Corrects 161-Year-Old Article about Solomon Northup

It took more than a century and a half, but The New York Times is finally correcting their story about the kidnapping of Solomon Northup. After 12 Years a Slave, the film based on his memoir, won the Oscar for Best Picture, Internet users dug up the NYT piece from 1853 the describes the “Narrative of the Seizure and Recovery of Solomon Northup.” Though the piece was factually accurate—recounting how Northup had been abducted and sold into slavery—the Times misspelled his name twice in the copy. As The Verge notes, when Northup’s book was released later that year, the NYT noted, “It will be read widely” …

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