how tall was harriet tubman

Historians estimate that Harriet Tubman was very short, likely between about 5 feet 0 inches and 5 feet 3 inches tall as an adult.

Quick Scoop: How tall was Harriet Tubman?

Most modern biographies and historical analyses agree that we do not have an exact, documented measurement of her height.

Instead, historians use period descriptions and a few later newspaper references to estimate:

• She was described as “very short” and “short in stature” in 19th‑century accounts.

• An 1886 newspaper clipping cited in later research lists her as “5 feet 3 inches.”

• Some writers today summarize this as roughly 5 feet 2 inches, still within that 5'0"–5'3" range.

So, when people ask “how tall was Harriet Tubman,” the most accurate answer is:
She was a very short woman, probably around 5'0"–5'3" (about 152–160 cm), rather than a single exact, verified number.

Why her height matters to people

Even though her height was modest, contemporary accounts stress that she was stocky, muscular, and incredibly strong for her size.

That contrast—small body, huge impact—is a big part of why her stature often comes up in modern discussions of her life and legend.

TL;DR:
Harriet Tubman’s exact height isn’t definitively recorded, but historians and period descriptions put her at roughly 5'0"–5'3", making her quite short even for her own time.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.