benjamin banneker - islandschoolhistory

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BENJAMIN
BANNEKER
Science in Adversity
1090L
BY DAVID BAKER, ADAPTED BY NEWSELA
Benjamin Banneker was a mathematician,
astronomer, and polymath, widely regarded as one
of the first African-American scientists and a
gifted figure during the Age of Enlightenment.
Born
November 9, 1731
Baltimore County, USA
Died
October 9, 1806
Baltimore County, USA
The human thirst for knowledge, even in the face of tough circumstances, is reflected
in the life of Benjamin Banneker and the life of his family. His grandmother was named
Molly Welsh. She was a lower-class Englishwoman from Devon, England. Like many in
the agrarian era, Molly was very poor and had to work as a laborer to keep herself fed
and sheltered from day to day. She worked as a milkmaid. In 1683, she accidentally
spilled a bucket of milk. Molly’s employer did not believe her and accused her of stealing the milk so she could sell it herself. Molly was arrested, found guilty, and sentenced to death. In those days, even petty theft carried a death sentence, under what
later would become known as “the Bloody Code.” However, regardless of what the law
said officially, in many cases the death sentence was reduced to lesser punishments.
In the seventeenth century, the English were still struggling to find people to work in
the colonies. So the judge ruled that if Molly could prove she was literate, she would
be sentenced to seven years of indentured servitude in the colonies instead. Molly,
rare for the lower classes at that time, and even rarer for women, was able to read.
She promptly read several passages from the Bible and was packed off to the colonies.
people of West Africa. But he was captured in an enemy raid and sold to European
slavers. He was also very intelligent and brought with him the astounding agricultural
knowledge that made the Dogon the envy of the neighboring peoples in West Africa.
Molly and Banneka gradually learned each other’s language, and the tobacco farm
flourished. Molly and Banneka also fell in love, and Molly freed Banneka and promptly
married him. Molly was taking a big risk. One interpretation of the law meant that by
marrying a slave, Molly would be assuming slave status herself, rather than freeing
her husband. In later life, Molly was walking in town with her children, when a crowd
formed around her asking “who they belong to.” Molly did not want to risk her or her
children’s freedom and lied, “they are my slave’s children.” Throughout her life, and the
lives of her children and grandchildren, the reinterpretation of her marriage to Banneka remained a threat to the freedom and land of the entire family.
Molly and Banneka were both extremely intelligent people, who turned their farm into
a success. But due to the inequalities of the time, they were limited in how they could
share their knowledge with the wider world. The human exchange of learning has
been crucial to our advancement throughout human history, from stone tools to skyscrapers. They are just two examples of how inequalities and prejudice can slow
down the collective learning of humanity. Molly was a former servant and victim of a
INDENTURED SERVITUDE AND SLAVERY
An indentured servant is someone who is compelled by law to work for an employer
for a fixed term. They cannot leave their job without being punished. Many English
people found themselves arriving in the Americas in such a way in the seventeenth
century. Molly arrived in Maryland and spent the next seven years working on a tobacco farm. Part of a contract for an indentured servant is, when they have finished
their years of service, they are given land and supplies to start a farm of their own.
This was because the English wanted to colonize the vast lands of America as quickly
as possible, but not enough people wanted to go over there. Molly was given 50 acres
to start life as a farmer. However, managing a huge tobacco farm is difficult for one
person to do on their own. She could have hired workers, but there was a labor shortage in seventeenth-century America. The other source of labor was the odious practice of slavery. Molly went to the docks and bought two slaves to help her on her farm.
One of the slaves was named Banneka. He had a proud and dignified bearing. He disliked working with his hands. It turned out that Banneka was a prince of the Dogon
Slave market.
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harsh justice system, and Banneka was a prince of a proud people in West Africa with
great agricultural skills, ripped from his home and sold into slavery. And unlike many
with more tragic stories, Molly managed to escape death at the hands of a corrupt justice system and Banneka managed to win back his freedom. Many other potential innovators in human history were not so lucky, and we shall never know what they
might have contributed to our collective pool of knowledge.
Molly and Banneka had four daughters. The eldest, Mary, was born in 1700. She grew
into a tall, beautiful, and very sensible woman. She did not marry for a long time. She
could not marry a slave, because that would likely make her a slave as well. Eventually, she married Robert, an African abducted from Guinea, whose story is a bit foggy
in the sources. In one version, Robert was bought by Molly and Banneka and freed
once they noticed he loved their daughter. In another version, Robert was taken from
Guinea and escaped slavery several times, before being sold to a planter who freed
him, and then making his way to Baltimore County. At any rate, Mary and Robert married as free people, and took the last name Bannaky.
A TRULY GIFTED CHILD
Robert and Mary also proved themselves to be knowledgeable and successful farmers,
who made enough money to continue buying more land. In 1731, they had a son, Benjamin.
Banneka had died in the 1720s. Molly took a close interest in educating the young Benjamin. She taught him to read and passed on the African farming techniques of Benjamin’s grandfather. Benjamin grew up to be quiet, intelligent, and well-spoken. He could
quote long passages from literature, to the astonishment of the locals who met him. By
the age of 6, Benjamin could even do basic accounting for the farm and for some of
the nearby neighbors. As smart as his parents and grandparents were, Benjamin was
a truly gifted child.
Robert continued to be successful and, in 1737, he bought an additional 100 acres and
put his name and the 6-year-old Benjamin’s name on the deed. This was to make sure
Benjamin would inherit the farm without anyone giving him any trouble. The farm was
higher up in the hills, far away from too many neighbors, and it gave the family a quiet
life with a great deal of privacy.
Benjamin continued to progress as a gifted child. He impressed a Quaker farmer,
named Peter Heinrich, who was starting up a school in the area. Benjamin soon surpassed his teacher’s skills, and was allowed to plan his own lessons. Benjamin at-
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tended school for a year or two at most. Then, he started full-time work on the tobacco farm. Heinrich still took a keen interest in his education, however, and the
school loaned many books to Benjamin. From this point forward till the end of his life,
Benjamin was largely self-taught.
Benjamin studied classical history and developed an eloquent writing style. But his
real passion was for the sciences and mathematics. Benjamin would create complex
math problems for himself and then puzzle over them until he solved them. With only a
few books, Benjamin taught himself mechanical engineering, algebra, geometry, and
trigonometry.
As his father, Robert, got older, Benjamin (now adopting the last name Banneker)
began to take over more and more work on the farm. By this time, Benjamin had
already become a mathematician, scientist, and polymath. When Benjamin was 22, a
man named Josef Levi visited the farm from England. Josef had a watch, which was a
rare sight in those days. Most people told time by the position of the Sun in the sky.
Benjamin was fascinated by it. Josef lent it to him, intending to collect it when he
returned from England. But he unfortunately died at sea and never returned. Benjamin
took the watch apart, sketched it, and figured out exactly how it worked. He then took
some hardwood and began carving out copies of the watch’s parts. Benjamin
assembled a clock. So rare were clocks in the 1700s, it was the first clock in U.S.
history to be made entirely from parts made in America. It worked perfectly for 50
years. Thereafter, Benjamin often repaired all types of clocks and watches for his
neighbors.
In 1759, Benjamin’s father, Robert, died. Benjamin ran the farm himself. In his spare
time, he continued to read, played flute and violin, and read letters for his illiterate
white neighbors. He never married.
Had Benjamin been born even a century later, he might have had an opportunity to
attend school, even a university, and contribute to mathematics and scientific
advances. As it was, at a time when the Enlightenment and Scientific Revolution was
in full swing in Europe and America, Benjamin’s circumstances made it difficult for
him to contribute to the pool of human knowledge.
From the age of 28 to the time he was 59, Benjamin lived the life of a farmer and private scholar in Baltimore County. He lived through the American Revolution and was
very moved by the calls for liberty, equality, and freedom from tyranny. He also shared
the thirst for knowledge of the workings of nature during the Age of Enlightenment.
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WATCHING THE STARS
Meanwhile, in 1772, the Ellicott brothers moved onto the land next to Benjamin’s. They
were of European descent from Pennsylvania. Benjamin and the Ellicotts struck a
long-lasting friendship. In 1788, the Ellicotts supplied Benjamin with a couple of books
on astronomy, along with some equipment. So began Benjamin’s most profound journey into the realm of science.
Benjamin continued to teach himself and worked busily on his astronomical calculations. In 1789, he accurately predicted an eclipse would occur on April 14, beating the
predictions of many of his contemporaries.
In 1790, Benjamin retired from farming. He sold his land to the Ellicotts in exchange for
some money and an agreement that he could spent the rest of his life living in his log
cabin. Benjamin was finally able to give over all his time to his studies. He began
sleeping during the day so he could watch the stars at night. He built a shed and
carved out a skylight, turning the shed into a makeshift observatory. Benjamin con-
structed accurate tables and calculations.
His work used an advanced kind of trigonometry.
Meanwhile, George Washington was making plans to move the capital of the young
United States to what would be named
Washington, D.C. Andrew Ellicott hired
Benjamin to work on a survey team that
would lay down the original borders for the
new capital. From February to April 1791,
Benjamin’s job was to note star movements and pass the information on to the
survey team, so they could very accurately
figure out where the borders were by
comparison with the position of the stars
in the sky. Benjamin also contributed his
photographic memory to the drawing of
detailed maps and blueprints.
Despite his position in the world, Benjamin’s greatest contribution to the pool of
Title page to Benjamin Banneker’s Almanac
knowledge was far-reaching. He calculated the timing of the tides, the time of sunrise and sunset throughout the year, the
phases of the Moon, the occurrence of eclipses, predictions for bad winters and seasonal changes, and when pests would be likely to return. He published his calculations
in an almanac, along with tips on how to plant crops, ideas for medicine, and some
inspiring quotations from literature.
An almanac was very important to farmers and sailors in this age. Knowledge of the
weather, the tides, and the cycles of the Sun (in a world still largely without clocks)
was vital to many people’s livelihoods. Many people in the eighteenth century owned
just two books: a Bible and an almanac. Benjamin first published his in 1792 and continued to publish them annually until 1797. They were an immediate success, and won
him a lot of admiration. His almanacs were sold widely in the U.S., and a few copies
even made it as far as Europe. His most popular bit of knowledge was the tide table
for the Chesapeake Bay region. Many of his competitors did not include one, and Benjamin’s other calculations were also often judged to be more accurate.
Andrew Ellicott’s plan for Washington, D.C., 1792
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Timeline of Banneker’s life
1753
Benjamin carves the first clock made entirely in America.
1759
Benjamin inherits his father’s farm.
1772
The Ellicotts move next door to Benjamin
and they strike up a strong friendship.
1731
Benjamin is born.
1680
1700
1720
1731
Robert purchases
a large farm of
100 acres.
1789
Benjamin correctly predicts
the occurrence of an eclipse.
1788
Benjamin begins his
study of astronomy.
1740
1760
1789
George Washington
elected President.
1700
Mary, Benjamin’s mother, is born.
1692
Banneka, an African prince and slave, is purchased by Molly
Welsh. He is freed later that year and the two marry.
1730
Mary weds a freed
slave, Robert.
1776
Declaration of Independence
1690
Molly Welsh obtains her freedom and begins farming tobacco.
1683
Molly Welsh arrives in Maryland from England as an indentured servant.
1780
1752
Benjamin Franklin’s kite
experiment takes place.
1775–1783
American Revolutionary War
1773
Boston Tea Party
During the time of Banneker
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One of the most striking points of Benjamin’s life was to send a copy of his first almanac to Thomas Jefferson, along with a letter. Benjamin found it troubling that a man
who advocated for liberty should hold slaves. He wrote:
We are a race of beings, who have long labored under the abuse and censure of the
world; we have long been looked upon with an eye of contempt. However diversified
in situation or color, we are all of the same family.
1790
Benjamin sells his farm to the Ellicotts in
exchange for life residency.
The modern scientific story of humanity bears him out.
1791
Benjamin joins the Ellicott survey team for Washington, D.C. He
calculates and publishes the first of a series of almanacs, which were
a success. He begins his correspondence with Thomas Jefferson.
He sent along his almanac to prove that people of African descent had just as capable
minds as any other. In this diplomatic but passionate letter, Benjamin argued:
1806
Benjamin dies at home. The day of his funeral, his log cabin
mysteriously burns down.
1800
1820
1840
Sir, pitiable it is to reflect that…in detaining by fraud and violence so numerous a
part of my brethren, under groaning captivity and cruel oppression, that you should
at the same time be found guilty of that most criminal act, which you professedly
detested in others.
Benjamin considered himself lucky but he was all too aware of the suffering of others.
At the time, it is estimated there were “islands” of 8,000 free African-Americans in
Maryland, with about 100,000 slaves in the same area. And it would be more than 50
years before Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation.
Benjamin’s letter was one of the first in an exchange of letters with Thomas Jefferson,
making Benjamin one of the first African-Americans to correspond with a government
official. Jefferson responded sympathetically to Benjamin, in the careful way of a politician, and promised to send Benjamin’s almanac to the National Academy of Sciences
in Paris. The head of the academy, Condorcet, was a leading figure in the Enlightenment. However, this received no reply.
1812
War of 1812
1808
International slave trade prohibited.
1801
Thomas Jefferson elected third president of the United States.
Nevertheless, Benjamin Banneker became famous in his time for his high intelligence
and talents. He lived in the world during an important era for science and rational
thought. If not for the monstrous prejudices of the time, he arguably would have been
even more famous. His talent was profound and his journals reached astronomical
conclusions well in advance of his time. In terms of talent, he was undoubtedly one of
the greatest scientific minds of the eighteenth century.
If awarded a proper position suited to his talents, Benjamin could have contributed
greatly to astronomy and the study of many other areas of the natural world. Instead,
he lived the majority of his life as a tobacco farmer and private scholar, his legacy going largely unrecognized until about 50 years after his death, and only being fully rec-
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ognized as late as the 1970s.
On October 9, 1806, while taking a walk
with a friend, Benjamin said he felt ill and
went home to sleep, where he died peacefully. It is a mystery why his cabin burned
down on the day of his funeral, along with
many of his journals and notes. This was a
great loss, not only to our history of the
man, but also to the knowledge that could
have been useful to his contemporaries.
Benjamin’s obituary in the Federal Gazette,
three weeks after his death, said:
Mr. Banneker is a prominent instance to
prove that a descendant of Africa is
susceptible of as great mental
improvement and deep knowledge into
the mysteries of nature as that of any
other nation.
Benjamin Banneker leaves several legaA 15-cent commemorative stamp honoring
cies. He is widely recognized as one of the
Benjamin Banneker, issued February 2015.
first African-American scientists. He
serves as an inspiration for the many African-Americans who followed him, working
at the forefront of the natural sciences and contributing significantly not only to American history but to that ever growing pool of human knowledge. Finally, Benjamin, his
parents, and grandparents, are proof that the collective learning of humanity is robbed
of the contribution of many gifted people when society succumbs to corruption, prejudice, and intolerance. When those restrictions are lifted and people are provided with
an opportunity to contribute, humanity can progress by leaps and bounds. Every human being is a potential innovator. Living in a world now with 7 billion potential innovators, many of them still suffering inequalities and hardships, the story of Benjamin
Banneker is an important one to bear in mind.
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Sources
Benjamin Banneker, Benjamin Banneker’s Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland,
and Virginia Almanack & Emphemeris,
Baltimore: Goddard and Angell, 1792.
Benjamin Banneker and Thomas Jefferson, Copy of a Letter from Benjamin
Banneker to the Secretary of State, with
His Answer, Philadelphia: Daniel Lawrence, 1792.
Silvio Bedini, The Life of Benjamin Banneker, 2nd ed. Baltimore: Maryland Historical Society, 1999.
Charles Cerami, Benjamin Banneker:
Surveyor, Astronomer, Publisher, Patriot.
New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2002.
Myra Weatherly, Benjamin Banneker:
American Scientific Pioneer, Minneapolis: Compass Point Books, 2006.
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Cover image: Benjamin Banneker - with
biographical paragraphs. By Charles
Henry Alston, 1907-1977, Artist (NARA
record: 3569253) - U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
Public domain. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BENJAMIN_BANNEKER_-_ASTRONOMER-CITY_PLANNER_-_NARA_-_535626.jpg
Image of slaves sale during the 19th
century. © adoc-photos/Corbis
Image of Andrew Ellicott’s plan for
Washington, D.C., 1792. Public domain.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
File:Ellicott_plan.jpg
Image of title page of an edition of Banneker’s 1792 almanac. Public domain.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
File:BannekerAlmanac.jpg
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Image of 15-cent commemorative stamp
honoring Benjamin Banneker issued
2/15 in Annapolis, Maryland, during the
nationwide observance of Black History
month, by the U.S. Postal Service. ©
Bettmann/Corbis.
BENJAMIN BANNEKER / 1090L
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