Benjamin Banneker

<p>Benjamin Banneker was born free on November 9, 1731, in Baltimore County, Maryland. Raised on his family's tobacco farm, he demonstrated astonishing mechanical genius in his early twenties by hand-carving a wooden striking clock entirely from scratch after studying a borrowed pocket watch—a clock that ticked accurately for over fifty years until his death.</p><p>In the late 1780s, Banneker borrowed astronomical texts and instruments from George Ellicott, teaching himself advanced spherical trigonometry, calculus, and celestial mechanics. In 1791, US Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson appointed Major Andrew Ellicott to survey the 10-mile-square boundary of the new Federal District (Washington, D.C.), and Ellicott hired Banneker to maintain the astronomical field observations and astronomical clocks.</p><p>From 1792 to 1797, Banneker published a series of celebrated almanacs featuring his own astronomical ephemeris calculations. On August 19, 1791, Banneker sent a handwritten copy of his almanac accompanied by a passionate letter to Thomas Jefferson, challenging the author of the Declaration of Independence on the moral hypocrisy of enslaving African Americans while proclaiming 'all men are created equal'. Jefferson replied respectfully, praising Banneker's intellect. Banneker passed away in 1806, revered as a pioneer of American science and civil rights.</p>