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Definition: Banneker, Benjamin from Chambers Biographical Dictionary

1731-1806

US mathematician and astronomer

Born in Ellicott, Maryland, the son of a slave father and free mother, he was interested in mathematics and science, and as a young man constructed an entirely wooden clock that kept perfect time. He was recommended by Thomas Jefferson to assist with surveying the site of the District of Columbia and the city of Washington, and in his correspondence with Jefferson he defended the intellectual equality of African-Americans. Banneker also published an almanac containing astronomical and tide calculations.

Banneker, Benjamin

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
American astronomer, surveyor, mathematician, and social critic who published almanacs 1792–97. As a free African American, he used his achievements to counter racist prejudice. In 1791 President George Washington appointed him to the survey that prepared for the establishment of the US capital, Washington, DC. A self-taught astronomer, he successfully predicted the solar eclipse that occurred on 14 April 1789. He engaged in a long correspondence with secretary of state Thomas Jefferson (who had pronounced ‘blacks’ mathematically inferior), defending the mental capacities of African Americans and urging the abolition of slavery. Banneker was born near the Patapsco River in Baltimore County, the son and grandson of former slaves. He attended an elementary school run by Quakers that admitted African-American children, but was mainly self educated. At 15 he took over the family tobacco farm near Baltimore, devising an effective irrigation system of ditches and dams. In 1753, at the age of…
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Full text Article Banneker, Benjamin

From The Great American History Fact-Finder
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Full text Article Banneker, Benjamin (1731-1806)

From The Hutchinson Dictionary of Scientific Biography
Place : United States of America Subject : biography, astronomy, maths and statistics US mathematician, astronomer, and surveyor who is chiefly known for his almanacs published in the 1790s. The son of a freed slave, Benjamin Banneker was born on 9 November 1731 near the Patapsco River in Baltimore…
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Full text Article BANNEKER, BENJAMIN (1731-1806)

From The Bloomsbury Encyclopedia of the American Enlightenment
Benjamin Banneker was a multitalented free black man from Maryland who gained prominence in several occupations, including surveying, publishing, astronomy, and mathematics. Banneker's grandmother was Molly Walsh, an English indentured servant. Upon gaining her freedom, Molly purchased an African…
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Astronomer, Mathematician Benjamin Banneker was born on November 9, 1731, in Ellicott, Maryland. His mother was a free woman and his father was a slave who eventually purchased his own freedom. At the age of twenty-one Banneker constructed a clock based on a pocket watch he had seen, calculating the…
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George E. Alcorn (1940–) Archie Alexander (1888–1958) Benjamin Banneker (1731–1806) Andréw Jackson Beard (1849–1910) Jim Beckwourth (1798–1866) David Blackwell (1919–2010) Guy Bluford (1942–) …
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Full text Article Publications

From Black Firsts: 500 Years of Trailblazing Achievements and Ground-Breaking Events Full text Article SCIENCE & MEDICINE
Benjamin Banneker (1731–1806) was the first black man to issue an almanac. (The series continued until 1797.) Banneker was born free in Maryland, where he became a tobacco farmer. As a result of his interest in mathematics and mechanics, he constructed a successful striking clock around 1752. His…
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Full text Article SCIENCE

From The Handy Answer Book Series: The Handy African American History Answer Book Full text Article SCIENCE, INVENTIONS, MEDICINE, AND AEROSPACE
Brilliant botanist and chemist George Washington...
Benjamin Banneker (1731–1806) was the first African American to issue an almanac. His almanac series began in 1792 and continued until 1797. Because of his expertise in mathematics and astronomy, he is sometimes called the first African-American scientist. Banneker was born free in Maryland, where…
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Woodcut portrait of Benjamin Bannaker (Banneker)...
Overview Benjamin Banneker was born on November 9, 1731, the son of a freed black slave and free black woman. His grandmother had some education and taught Benjamin to read and write; he also attended a Quaker school for a short period of time. Living in the British North American colonies – the…
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A story about Benjamin Banneker—African American mathematician, astronomer, and inventor—suggests to what degree he had trained his memory. Appointed to the District of Columbia Commission by President George Washington in 1790, he worked with Pierre L'Enfant, Andrew Ellicott, and others to plan the…
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(b. 1731–d. 1806) American almanac writer Benjamin Banneker, a mathematician and astronomer who was primarily self-taught, was born November 9, 1731, in Ellicott's Mills, Maryland. A free black who found support for his talent from the surrounding liberal white Maryland society, Banneker was the…
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