A freedmans son could rise to become Roman emperor

Evidence

The mere fact of Pertinax becoming Emperor tells an incredible tale of social mobility. Now aged sixty-six, he had been born in Alba Pompeia (modern Alba) in north-west Italy. His father, Helvius Successus, was a freedman — Stephen Kershaw, A Brief History of the Roman Empire, 1153

Categorization

• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Stephen Kershaw, A Brief History of the Roman Empire, 1153
• XREF: connects to: Only fifteen non-nobles attained the Roman consulship over three centuries — Stephen Kershaw, A Brief History of the Roman Empire, 39