This is Alexander Milton Ross, a surgeon from Detroit who became known as The Bird Man.

In 1856, Dr. Ross began liberating slaves: Educated and rich, he would approach the owner of a slave plantation, requesting permission to study some interesting birds on their estate. Then he would wander off into the fields and trees, examining the area. Once night fell, he secretly told the slaves where they could find Underground Railroad stations, who to watch out for and who to trust. He would leave each slave with a knife, a compass, a few dollars, some food, and sometimes pistols.

What Dr. Ross did (multiple times) was highly illegal – many people who did similar things served long prison sentences at hard labor – but he did it anyway, convinced that enslaving humans was evil.

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So, before going back to the mundane, please consider what actions you’d be willing to take, knowing that prison or worse threatened: Would you do it to save the world from annihilation? Would you to save your child or spouse? What else? Run through a scenario or two, including how you’d explain your choice to others.