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Benjamin Banneker
Benjamin Banneker was an African American who
made his mark as an inventor, surveyor, farmer, and
for years has been referred to as "the first
Negro Man of Science."
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The son of Robert and Mary Bannaky,
Benjamin Banneker was born in 1731. His grandfather was a
slave from Africa and his grandmother, an indentured servant
from England. His grandfather was known as Banna Ka, then
later as Bannaky, his grandmother as Molly Walsh. His
grandmother was a maid in England who had been sent to
Maryland as an indentured servant. When she finished her seven
years of bondage, she bought a farm along with two slaves to
help her take care of it. Walsh freed both slaves and married
one, Bannaky. They had several children, among them a daughter
named Mary. When Mary Bannaky grew up, she bought a slave
named Robert, married him and had several children, including
Benjamin.
Bannaky Springs
Benjamin Banneker grew up on the family farm, known as "Bannaky
Springs" due to the fresh water springs on the land.
Robert Bannaky used ditches and little dams to control the
water from the springs for irrigation. Benjamin’s father’s
work was so reliable that the Bannaky's crops flourished even
in dry spells. This family of free blacks raised good tobacco
crops all the time.
Molly, Banneker's
grandmother, taught him and his brothers to read, using her
Bible as a lesson book. There was no school in the valley for
the boys to attend. Then one summer, a Quaker school teacher
came to live in the valley. He set up a school for boys.
Benjamin Bannaky attended this school. The schoolmaster
changed the spelling of his name to Banneker. At school he
learned to write and do simple arithmetic. .
A Fascination With Time
When Banneker was twenty-one, a remarkable thing happened:
he saw a patent watch. The watch belonged to a man named Josef
Levi. Having never seen anything like it before, Banneker was
absolutely fascinated with the watch. Levi gave Banneker his
watch. This was to change his life. Banneker took the watch
apart to see how it worked. The industrious youth then carved
similar watch pieces out of wood and made a clock of his own;
the first striking clock to be made completely in America.
Banneker's clock was so precise it struck every hour, on the
hour, for forty years. His work on the clock led him to repair
watches, clocks and sundials. Banneker even helped Joseph
Ellicott build a complex clock. Banneker became close friends
with the Ellicott brothers, who lent him books on astronomy
and mathematics as well as instruments for observing the
stars. Banneker taught himself astronomy and advanced
mathematics.
Banneker’s "Work Cabin"
Observatory
Banneker's
parents died, leaving him the farm since his two sisters had
married and moved away. Banneker built himself a rough version
of an observatory, a "work cabin" with a skylight to
study the stars and make calculations. Working largely alone,
with few visitors, he compiled results which he published in
his Almanac.
Designing Washington, DC
Around this time, Major Andrew Ellicott, George Ellicott's
cousin, asked Banneker to help him survey the "Federal
Territory". Banneker and Ellicott worked closely with
Pierre L'Enfant who was the architect in charge of planning
Washington D.C. L'Enfant was suddenly dismissed from the
project, due to his temper. When he left, he took the plans
with him. Banneker recreated the plans from memory, saving the
U.S. government the effort and expense of having someone else
design the capita.
Although Banneker
studied and recorded his results until he died, he stopped
publishing his Almanac due to poor sales. Banneker died on
Sunday, October 26, 1806.
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