Biography Category
Name :
Benjamen Banneker
Date :
Views :
415
Category :
Birth Date :
01/05/2026
Birth Place :
-
Death Date :
1806
If Benjamin Bannaker’s grandmother, a lowly milkmaid, had not been educated to read, during a time when women were not educated, she would not have escaped a certain unjust death in England. In turn, she would not have been able to free a slave in America some years later, marry him and educate their grandchildren, producing one of the greatest minds in Black History.
As one searches through the pages of Black History, seeking information on blacks who made great contributions to our country, from time to time, one will stumble upon information that does more than educate, but actually enlightens and gives us hope. The story of Benjamin Bannaker and his grandmother Molly Walsh is one of these stories.[br /]
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If Benjamin Bannaker’s grandmother, a lowly milkmaid, had not been educated to read, during a time when women were not educated, she would not have escaped a certain unjust death in England. In turn, she would not have been able to free a slave in America some years later, marry him and educate their grandchildren, producing one of the greatest minds in Black History.[br /]
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After gaining her freedom of indentured servitude in 1690, Molly Walsh would purchase a tobacco farm and later two slaves in 1962, as she found the farm too hard to work by herself. One of the slaves named Bannaka was son of a Senegalese chieftain. In 1996, She freed her slaves and married Bannaka, which was unheard of, just as a woman building a 100-acre farm had been unheard of in the past. Their first child Mary is born in 1700, the Bannaka’s had three more daughters.[br /]
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Just as her mother had done, Mary Bannaka married a Freed slave, Robert from Guinea, in 1730. He took her surname. Benjamin is born in 1731 as a free black. His name is later changed to Bannaker. Benjamin’s Grandmother had a huge influence on his life. “Using the Bible, Molly Bannaky taught Mary's children to read, and soon after, Benjamin would read the bible to his mother and grandmother. For those times, life was good to this little community, but work was hard, but not challenging to Benjamin. He learned to play the flute and the violin, and when a Quaker school opened in the valley, Benjamin attended it during the winter where he learned to write and elementary arithmetic.” (Dr. Scott W. Williams, Professor of Mathematics, University of Buffalo) [br /]
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He took over the family farm at the age of 15 with an 8th grade education, and “he devised an irrigation system of ditches and little dams to control the water from the springs (known around as Bannaky Springs) on the family farm. There tobacco farm flourished even in times of drought.” (Dr. Scott W. Williams, Professor of Mathematics, University of Buffalo) At the age of 22, in 1753, he created the first wooden striking clock. Banneker had become fascinated with the patent watch of a friend, Josef Levi who gave Benjamin the watch which he took it apart to 'study its workings." “Banneker then carved similar watch pieces out of wood to make, in 1752, a wooden clock. Due to its precision (it struck every hour, on the hour, and continued to do so nearly forty years) the clock brought fame to young Banneker. [br /]
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Thus he began a watch and clock repair business. Further, he helped another famous Marylander, the industrialist Joseph Ellicott, to build a complex clock. Banneker and the Ellicott brothers became friends.” (Dr. Scott W. Williams, Professor of Mathematics, University of Buffalo)[br /]
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If Benjamin Bannaker’s grandmother, a lowly milkmaid, had not been educated to read, during a time when women were not educated, she would not have escaped a certain unjust death in England. In turn, she would not have been able to free a slave in America some years later, marry him and educate their grandchildren, producing one of the greatest minds in Black History.[br /]
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After gaining her freedom of indentured servitude in 1690, Molly Walsh would purchase a tobacco farm and later two slaves in 1962, as she found the farm too hard to work by herself. One of the slaves named Bannaka was son of a Senegalese chieftain. In 1996, She freed her slaves and married Bannaka, which was unheard of, just as a woman building a 100-acre farm had been unheard of in the past. Their first child Mary is born in 1700, the Bannaka’s had three more daughters.[br /]
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Just as her mother had done, Mary Bannaka married a Freed slave, Robert from Guinea, in 1730. He took her surname. Benjamin is born in 1731 as a free black. His name is later changed to Bannaker. Benjamin’s Grandmother had a huge influence on his life. “Using the Bible, Molly Bannaky taught Mary's children to read, and soon after, Benjamin would read the bible to his mother and grandmother. For those times, life was good to this little community, but work was hard, but not challenging to Benjamin. He learned to play the flute and the violin, and when a Quaker school opened in the valley, Benjamin attended it during the winter where he learned to write and elementary arithmetic.” (Dr. Scott W. Williams, Professor of Mathematics, University of Buffalo) [br /]
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He took over the family farm at the age of 15 with an 8th grade education, and “he devised an irrigation system of ditches and little dams to control the water from the springs (known around as Bannaky Springs) on the family farm. There tobacco farm flourished even in times of drought.” (Dr. Scott W. Williams, Professor of Mathematics, University of Buffalo) At the age of 22, in 1753, he created the first wooden striking clock. Banneker had become fascinated with the patent watch of a friend, Josef Levi who gave Benjamin the watch which he took it apart to 'study its workings." “Banneker then carved similar watch pieces out of wood to make, in 1752, a wooden clock. Due to its precision (it struck every hour, on the hour, and continued to do so nearly forty years) the clock brought fame to young Banneker. [br /]
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Thus he began a watch and clock repair business. Further, he helped another famous Marylander, the industrialist Joseph Ellicott, to build a complex clock. Banneker and the Ellicott brothers became friends.” (Dr. Scott W. Williams, Professor of Mathematics, University of Buffalo)[br /]
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Thanks to books and instruments lent to Benjamin by Joeph Ellicot, Bannaker taught himself mathmatics and astronomy. He became such an expert in the subjects that “he successfully predicted the solar eclipse that occurred on April 14, 1789, contradicting the forecasts of prominent mathematicians and astronomers of the day”. (Dr. Scott W. Williams, Professor of Mathematics, University of Buffalo)[br /]
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1791 was a very good year for Benjamin Bannaker. At the age of 60, he helped survey the boundary for the Federal Territory in what is now Washington DC. When the architect in charge of the project, Pierre L'Enfant was fired due to his extreme temper, he took the completed plans with him. Benjamin was able to re-draw the plans from memory. That same year he also calculated the ephemeris for his almanacs years 1792-1797. His most admirable accomplishment that year was a letter he wrote to Thomas Jefferson. Thomas Jefferson was Secretary of State at the time and was well respected. He was also a white supremacist, and slave owner who pronounced that Blacck people were mathematically inferior, in addition to several other inferiorities. “In response to Jefferson, Benjamin Banneker sent a copy of his almanac along with a twelve page twelve page letter to Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson requesting aid in improving the lot of American Blacks.” (Dr. Scott W. Williams) [br /]
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[b]Benjamin Bannaker’s [/b] letter politely refuted Jefferson’s Claims and requested aid in improving conditions for Black people. The letter has continued to remain an important document in Black History. The letter ended with; “I suppose that your knowledge of the situation of my brethren, is too extensive to need a recital here; neither shall I presume to prescribe methods by which they may be relieved, otherwise than by recommending to you and all others, to wean yourselves from those narrow prejudices which you have imbibed with respect to them, and as Job proposed to his friends, ``put your soul in their souls' stead;'' thus shall your hearts be enlarged with kindness and benevolence towards them; and thus shall you need neither the direction of myself or others, in what manner to proceed herein. And now, Sir, although my sympathy and affection for my brethren hath caused my enlargement thus far, I ardently hope, that your candor and generosity will plead with you in my behalf, when I make known to you, that it was not originally my design; but having taken up my pen in order to direct to you, as a present, a copy of an Almanac, which I have calculated for the succeeding year, I was unexpectedly and unavoidably led thereto.”[br /]
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Though Banneker's Almanac's was accepted by Franklin and was considered comparable to Benjamin Franklin's Poor Richards's Almanac, Bannaker discontinued publishing it due to poor sales in 1802. He died four years later.[br /]
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The story of Benjamin Bannaker, his grandmother and their accomplishments is a testament to what can be accomplished with strength, determination and a lack of fear. The story of the Bannaker family is one that should be definitely be added to America’s history books.[br /]
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[b]Benjamin Bannaker’s [/b] letter politely refuted Jefferson’s Claims and requested aid in improving conditions for Black people. The letter has continued to remain an important document in Black History. The letter ended with; “I suppose that your knowledge of the situation of my brethren, is too extensive to need a recital here; neither shall I presume to prescribe methods by which they may be relieved, otherwise than by recommending to you and all others, to wean yourselves from those narrow prejudices which you have imbibed with respect to them, and as Job proposed to his friends, ``put your soul in their souls' stead;'' thus shall your hearts be enlarged with kindness and benevolence towards them; and thus shall you need neither the direction of myself or others, in what manner to proceed herein. And now, Sir, although my sympathy and affection for my brethren hath caused my enlargement thus far, I ardently hope, that your candor and generosity will plead with you in my behalf, when I make known to you, that it was not originally my design; but having taken up my pen in order to direct to you, as a present, a copy of an Almanac, which I have calculated for the succeeding year, I was unexpectedly and unavoidably led thereto.”[br /]
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Though Banneker's Almanac's was accepted by Franklin and was considered comparable to Benjamin Franklin's Poor Richards's Almanac, Bannaker discontinued publishing it due to poor sales in 1802. He died four years later.[br /]
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The story of Benjamin Bannaker, his grandmother and their accomplishments is a testament to what can be accomplished with strength, determination and a lack of fear. The story of the Bannaker family is one that should be definitely be added to America’s history books.[br /]
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