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 Way Back When
Benjamin Banneker
Way back when, on November 9, 1731, Benjamin Banneker was born near Baltimore, Maryland. He was the son of a slave and a free black woman. Benjamin Banneker grew to be a famous African-American mathematician, astronomer and inventor.
 Although he did receive some schooling, Banneker had a natural mathematical ability. He was very curious about the world around him and borrowed books from a neighbor to learn about a variety of subjects. Around 1771, Banneker began making calculations in the field of astronomy. He was entirely self-taught in the science of astronomy. He accurately predicted a solar eclipse in 1789.
According to legend, Banneker was so fascinated by a pocket watch that he saw, that the owner then gave it to him as a gift. He took it apart and reassembled it to figure out how it worked. At age 22, in the mid-1750s, Banneker created the first all-American-made wood clock of this colonial region.
Benjamin Banneker achieved national recognition for his scientific work in the 1791 survey of the Federal Territory, now Washington, D.C. Banneker may be best known for his almanacs, the Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia Almanac and Ephemeris, published between 1792 and 1802. He also exchanged letters with Thomas Jefferson on the equality of men and the injustice of slavery.
Source: Banneker, Benjamin. Britannica Student Encyclopedia. http://www.britannica.com/ebi/article-9273098; Library of Congress, American Folklife Center, Local Legacies.
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