Banneker, Benjamin
American Mathematician and Astronomer
1731–1806
Benjamin Banneker is best known for his work in mathematics and astronomy. According to W. Douglas Brown, Banneker was "the first American Negro to challenge the world by the independent power of his intellect."
A native of Baltimore County, Maryland, Benjamin Banneker was born on November 9, 1731, and spent most of his life on his father's farm located in what is now Ellicott City, Maryland. Although his father had been a slave, his mother was born free to a white English woman who came to America as an indentured servant and married a native African.
Banneker's family had sufficient means to afford schooling. The school was only open in the winter, and the pupils included a few whites and two or three black children. There Benjamin learned to read and do arithmetic to "double fractions." When he became old enough to help on his father's farm, he continued to teach himself.
In his early life, Benjamin constructed a wooden clock that was a reliable timepiece for over 20 years. It was the first striking clock of its kind made completely in America. Benjamin quickly became known as the smartest mathematician for miles around. In 1791, Banneker was nominated by Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson and appointed by President George Washington to the commission to survey federal land for a national capital in Washington, D.C. He had an important role in the layout and design of the city, though his name does not appear on any contemporary documents.
Banneker devoted himself to the study of astronomy. In 1792, he produced his first almanac in which he recorded solar and lunar eclipses, tide tables, and positions of the Sun, Moon, and planets for each day of the year. The renowned work was given to Thomas Jefferson along with a letter from Banneker pleading for the rights of slaves held in the colonies. Jefferson sent the almanac to M. de Condorcet, secretary of the Academy of Sciences at Paris, praising the work. Thereafter, Banneker published yearly almanacs until his health declined in 1804.
Benjamin Banneker died on October 9, 1806. *On the day of his funeral, fire consumed his house, which destroyed his laboratory.
*Benjamin Banneker's work and memory remains alive today through groups which bear his name.
Bibliography
Mulcrone, Thomas F. "Benjamin Banneker, Pioneer Negro Mathematician." Mathematics Teacher 54 (1961): 32–37.
Internet Resources
Brown, Mitchell C. "Benjamin Banneker, Mathematician, Astronomer." The Faces of Science: African Americans in the Sciences. 2000. <http://www.princeton.edu/~mcbrown/display/banneker.html>.
