Inventor, Scientist. He is arguably the best-known African-American figure in early United States history. Born near Baltimore, Maryland in 1731, his grandmother, an Englishwoman, taught him to read and write. It was while attending school that he developed an interest in mathematics and science. Later, while a farmer, Banneker pursued his mathematical studies and taught himself astronomy. Fascinated with time pieces, in 1753 at age 22, he carved a clock entirely out of wood by hand, with his only models being a pocket watch and an old picture of a clock (the clock he made kept almost perfect time for over 50 years). Going on to become a respected mathematician, he published the first "Maryland Almanac" for several years, in which he calculated all the scientific computations himself. In 1791, he was appointed an assistant to Major Andrew Ellicott by President George Washington to be on the surveying team that determined the boundaries for America's capital, Washington, D.C., having been recommended by Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson.
Inventor, Scientist. He is arguably the best-known African-American figure in early United States history. Born near Baltimore, Maryland in 1731, his grandmother, an Englishwoman, taught him to read and write. It was while attending school that he developed an interest in mathematics and science. Later, while a farmer, Banneker pursued his mathematical studies and taught himself astronomy. Fascinated with time pieces, in 1753 at age 22, he carved a clock entirely out of wood by hand, with his only models being a pocket watch and an old picture of a clock (the clock he made kept almost perfect time for over 50 years). Going on to become a respected mathematician, he published the first "Maryland Almanac" for several years, in which he calculated all the scientific computations himself. In 1791, he was appointed an assistant to Major Andrew Ellicott by President George Washington to be on the surveying team that determined the boundaries for America's capital, Washington, D.C., having been recommended by Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson.
Bio by: Curtis Jackson
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