Solomon Northup was a free-born African American and an American abolitionist noted for his memoir, Twelve Years a Slave. Born to a freed slave and a free woman of color in New York, Northup was a professional violinist, farmer, and landowner in Washington County, New York.

In 1841, he was offered a traveling musician's job and went to Washington, D.C., where he was drugged and kidnapped into slavery. He was shipped to New Orleans and sold to a planter, remaining enslaved for 12 years in the Red River region of Louisiana. With the help of Samuel Bass, a Canadian, he managed to get word to his family, who enlisted the aid of the Governor of New York, Washington Hunt, to secure his freedom on January 3, 1853.

In his first year of freedom, Northup authored the memoir, Twelve Years a Slave, and became an active lecturer for the abolitionist movement. Despite his significant contributions, Northup largely disappeared from the historical record after 1857, although some reports suggest he was alive in 1863. His death details remain undocumented.

Northup's memoir has been adapted into multiple films, including the critically acclaimed 2013 feature film 12 Years a Slave, which won three Academy Awards, including Best Picture.