The details of Attucks' life before his passing remain a mystery. Although his origin is unknown for certain, it is believed that his mother was a Natick Indian named Nancy Attucks and that his father was a slave named Prince Yonger who was taken to America. On October 2, 1750, Framingham, Massachusetts resident William Brown placed an ad in the Boston Gazette seeking the return of a runaway slave by the name of "Crispas," who is typically assumed to be the Crispus in issue. This advertising stated that "Crispas" had escaped and listed his age as 27 and height as 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 meters). Attucks likely spent the 20 years between his freedom from slavery and his death at the hands of British soldiers.

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About the only thing that is for sure known about him is the Boston Massacre on March 5, 1770. That day, at sunset, a group of colonists gathered and started jeering at a few British soldiers. When one of the troops was hit, the tension grew quickly, and the others discharged their muskets, instantly killing three of the Americans and critically wounding another two. Attucks was one of the first men to die in the fight for American independence when he was the first to fall. The five victims were all laid to rest in a single burial on March 8 after their bodies were all transported to Faneuil Hall. The sole victim of the Boston Massacre whose name was well-known was Attucks.