Wendell Phillips was born in Boston, Massachusetts on November 29, 1811. His father, John Philips, was Boston's first mayor. Wendell Phillips graduated from Harvard in 1831 and continued a course of legal studies at Cambridge Law School. An abolitionist who wrote, spoke, and organized protests against slavery, he once delivered a one hour speech amid a hail of eggs thrown by an angry crowd who supported slavery. After the Civil War, he worked to help freed slaves get on their feet and also worked for the women's movement.

He and his wife had no children, but adopted one daughter. Wendell Phillips died in Boston, Massachusetts on February 2, 1884. He was 73 years old.