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Benjamin Banneker

Benjamin Banneker’s grandmother was from England, and his grandfather was from Africa. In the 1700s in America, there were laws against people of different colors getting married. They got married anyway, though, and lived out in the country where nobody would bother them.

The Banneker family farm was far from town, so Benjamin’s grandmother taught the children at home. Then, when Benjamin was 12, a school for boys opened nearby. Benjamin was excited about going to school, and he was a brilliant student. In fact, he learned so fast that soon he knew more about math than the teacher did!

When Benjamin was 21, he was given a pocket watch. After taking the watch apart and putting it back together, Benjamin decided to make his own clock out of wood. The wooden clock kept good time for 40 years. It is said to be the first clock made in America.

Later, after reading a book on astronomy, Benjamin built a “work cabin” on his land. Neighbors were used to seeing him lying on his back, looking at the stars. Now he had a skylight to look through and a telescope. He used his math skills to predict many events, including a solar eclipse. Other astronomers thought it would be on a different day, but Benjamin saw that they had made a mistake. The eclipse took place on April 14 1789, just as Benjamin had predicted.

Benjamin loved science and math, but he realized that other things were important, too. The books that he wrote included ideas about peace and freedom. He was proud to be an American, and proud of his African heritage. The fight against slavery was very important to him. Benjamin was a free man, but his father and grandfather had both been slaves. He had learned from them what a terrible thing slavery was. Benjamin even exchanged letters with Thomas Jefferson on the subject, hoping to change the future president’s mind.

Today, we know Benjamin Banneker as the first African-American scientist. In his own time, though, he was known by a more colorful name:The Sable Genius.