Booker T. Washington Signed Autograph Display. Tuskegee, Alabama 1909Booker T. Washington Autograph Display Born into slavery in 1856 and freed during the Civil War, Booker T. Washington was an author, educator, orator, and philanthropist who was one of the most prominent African American leaders in post Civil War America. Signed and inscribed on a 4. 25" x 2. 75" card, Washington inscribed his signature "Tuskegee, Alabama. Mar. 11, 1909". Washington was the first leader of the Tuskegee Institute, now known as Tuskegee