Benjamin Banneker Week – November 6-12, 2024

History of Benjamin Banneker Week

Benjamin Banneker was a mathematician, astronomer, almanac compiler, inventor, and writer who was one of the first prominent African American thinkers. Banneker, a free man, grew up on a property near Baltimore that he inherited from his father. He did, however, attend a one-room Quaker schoolhouse on occasion.

The gifted mathematician was largely self-taught. Reading borrowed books taught him a lot, and he had a natural aptitude for mathematics from an early age. While still a young man (possibly around the age of 20), he invented a wooden clock that kept perfect time. Banneker was encouraged to pursue his interest in astronomy by George Ellicott, a Quaker and amateur astronomer whose family owned neighboring mills.

Banneker began making astronomical calculations as early as 1788, and he correctly predicted a solar eclipse that happened in 1789. Banneker made more astronomical observations in 1791 while surveying the territory that would become Washington, D.C. with Andrew Ellicott and others. He was also an author and pamphleteer who fought slavery and advocated for civil rights. In 1791, he wrote to Thomas Jefferson, then-Secretary of State of the United States, asking for his assistance in improving conditions for African Americans.

When Banneker was too elderly to work on the farm, he sold it to the Ellicott family with the condition that he be permitted to remain in the farmhouse for the rest of his life. He spent his final days alone at the farmhouse studying and conducting scientific experiments.

During Banneker’s funeral, his farmhouse was burned, as was his laboratory and his much acclaimed wooden clock. Only one manuscript diary written by Banneker was not at the house and hence survived. Except for the published Almanacs, all other records of his accomplishments were destroyed in this (presumably intentional) fire.