The New York Times has chosen to amend a detail from an article written 161 years ago about the memoir of Solomon Northup, the free African-American man who was kidnapped and sold into slavery. Steve McQueen received an Academy Award on Sunday for his harrowing adaptation of Northup's tale, which caused articles related to the story to be dug up.

Benedict Cumberbatch Chiwetel Ejiofor 12 Years A Slave
An Article Written About The Original '12 Years A Slave' Memoir Has Been Amended 161 Years Later.

An article written on January 20th 1853 was discovered by author Rebecca Skloot, who discovered the mistake and publicised it via Twitter. The problem was that the 19th century article had Northup's name spelt in two different ways: Northrop and Northrup, neither of which were accurate.

The NY Times' correction reads: "An article on Jan. 20, 1853, recounting the story of Solomon Northup, whose memoir "12 Years a Slave" became a movie 160 years later that won the best picture Oscar at the 86th Academy Awards on Sunday night, misspelled his surname as Northrop. And the headline misspelled it as Northrup.

Watch The '12 Years A Slave' Trailer:

"The errors came to light on Monday after a Twitter user pointed out the article in The Times archives. (The errors notwithstanding, The Times described the article as "a more complete and authentic record than has yet appeared.")" Skloot joked about her keen-eyed observation, remarking "The irony, of course, is that I'm a terrible speller and proofreader."

Brad Pitt 12 Years A Slave
Based On A Real Life Tale, The Film Takes A Harrowing Look At The Horrors Of Slavery.

12 Years follows Northup's story from life as a free man leading a successful life in New York to being tricked , kidnapped and sold into slavery. With a critically-lauded cast including Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Brad Pitt, Lupita Nyong'o and Paul Dano, McQueen's movie presents an unrelenting look at one of American history's darkest chapters.

12 Years picked up Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress for Lupita Nyong'o and Best Adapted Screenplay for writer John Ridley. However, it was Alfonso Cuarón's space thriller Gravity that became the evening's most highly-awarded film with seven wins, including Best Director.