In 1853 the Times published an article about the now-famous kidnapping of Solomon Northup, in which Northup’s name was misspelled—and it went unnoticed until Monday.
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The mistake was brought to light by the recent fame Hollywood has bestowed on the lost narrative and Twitter, CNN reports.
The article was about how Northup was sold into slavery. Northup later published his own memoir, on which the Oscar-winning film 12 Years a Slave is based.
In the Times’ original account of the horrendous tale, Northup’s name was spelled two different ways. It was spelled “Northrup” in the headline, but in the body was written as “Northrop.”
With the Oscars bringing focus to the story, it didn’t take long for someone to dig up the article and spread it via the power of social media.
“The errors came to light on Monday after a Twitter user pointed out the article in The Times archives,” the correction said.
Read more at CNN.
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