Benjamin Banneker was a self-educated scientist, astronomer, inventor, writer, and antislavery publicist. Banneker built a striking clock entirely from wood, published a Farmers' Almanac, and actively campaigned against slavery.
Benjamin Banneker was born on November 9, 1731, just outside of Baltimore, Maryland, in Ellicott's Mills. He was the descendent of slaves, however, Banneker was born a freeman. At that time the law dictated that if your mother was a slave then you were a slave, and if she was a freewomen then you were a free person. Banneker's grandmother, Molly Walsh, was an English immigrant and an indentured servant who married his grandfather, an African slave named Banna Ka. The name Banna Ka was later changed to Bannaky, and then changed to Banneker. Molly served seven years as an indentured servant after which she acquired and worked her own small farm. Banna Ka was brought to the Colonies by a slave trader. Molly Walsh purchased Banna Ka and another African. Molly's and Banna Ka's daughter Mary (Benjamin's mother) was born free. Benjamin's father, Rodger was a former slave who had bought his own freedom before marrying Mary.
Banneker was educated by Quakers and quickly revealed to the world his inventive nature. Benjamin Banneker first achieved national acclaim for his scientific work in the 1791 survey of the Federal Territory (now Washington, D.C.). In 1753, he built the first watch made in America, a wooden pocket watch. Twenty years later, Banneker began making astronomical calculations that enabled him to successfully forecast a 1789 solar eclipse. His estimate made well in advance of the celestial event, contradicted predictions of better-known mathematicians and astronomers.
Banneker's mechanical and mathematical abilities impressed many, including Thomas Jefferson who encountered Banneker after George Elliot had recommended him for the surveying team that laid out Washington D.C.
Banneker is best known for his six annual Farmer's Almanacs published between 1792 and 1797, in his free time, Banneker began compiling the Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia Almanac and Ephemeris. The almanac included information on medicines and medical treatment, and listed tides, astronomical information, and eclipses all calculated by Banneker himself.
On August 19, 1791, Banneker sent a copy of his first almanac to secretary of state Thomas Jefferson. In an enclosed letter, he questioned the slaveholder's sincerity as a "friend to liberty." He urged Jefferson to help get rid of "absurd and false ideas" that one race is superior to another. He wished Jefferson's sentiments to be the same as his, that "one Universal Father . . . afforded us all the same sensations and endowed us all with the same faculties." Jefferson responded with praise for Banneker's accomplishments.
Benjamin Banneker died on October 25, 1806.
To find out more about Benjamin Banneker and other great Black Inventors log on to www.blackinventions101.com The official website for The Nationally acclaimed traveling museum "Black Inventions Exhibit" (BIE). It's a touring multimedia presentation, which consist of a museum with over 100 authentic inventions by Black Inventors. Numerous patent designs and video documentaries of these brilliant inventors at work is part of this rare collection that includes personal letters, photos, motivational posters and brief biographies of them.
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