Solomon Bayley

Solomon Bayley was an African American writer and preacher best known for his 1825 memoir, A Narrative of Some Remarkable Incidents in the Life of Solomon Bayley, Formerly a Slave, in the State of Delaware, North America. Available sources describe him as having been born into slavery in Delaware in 1771 and later gaining his freedom.

His life story follows a path through enslavement, separation from family, escape, and religious conviction. The narrative was published in London and is remembered as an important early slave narrative, giving a first-person account of slavery before the American Civil War.

Bayley is often noted not only as an autobiographical writer, but also as a voice of perseverance and faith. Although surviving biographical details are limited, his book remains a valuable record of lived experience and an important part of early African American literary history.