- Wikipedia

{"parse":{"title":"Benjamin Banneker","pageid":70578,"text":{"*":"

$\"\"$

This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. The specific problem is: over 50 citation errors and overly detailed quotes in references. Please help improve this article if you can. (August 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Benjamin Banneker
^{Library of Congress} Banneker depicted in a 1943 mural by Maxine Merlino in the Recorder of Deeds Building in Washington, D.C. (2010)^[1]
Born	November 9, 1731 Baltimore County, Province of Maryland, British America
Died	October 19, 1806(1806-10-19) (aged 74) Oella, Baltimore County, Maryland, U.S.
Nationality	American
Other names	Benjamin Bannaker
Occupation(s)	almanac author, surveyor, farmer
Parents	Robert (father) Mary Banneky (mother)

Benjamin Banneker (November 9, 1731 – October 19, 1806) was an American naturalist, mathematician, astronomer and almanac author. A landowner, he also worked as a surveyor and farmer.\n

Born in Baltimore County, Maryland, to a free African-American mother and a father who had formerly been enslaved, Banneker had little or no formal education and was largely self-taught. He became known for assisting Major Andrew Ellicott in a survey that established the original borders of the District of Columbia, the federal capital district of the United States.\n

Banneker's knowledge of astronomy helped him author a commercially successful series of almanacs. He corresponded with Thomas Jefferson on the topics of slavery and racial equality. Abolitionists and advocates of racial equality promoted and praised Banneker's works. Although a fire on the day of Banneker's funeral destroyed many of his papers and belongings, one of his journals and several of his remaining artifacts survived.\n

Banneker became a folk-hero after his death, leading to many accounts of his life being exaggerated or embellished.^[2] The names of parks, schools and streets commemorate him and his works, as do other tributes.\n

\n\n

Authority control databases $\"Edit$
International	ISNI VIAF FAST WorldCat
National	Germany United States Australia Netherlands Norway Israel
Academics	zbMATH
People	Trove
Other	IdRef SNAC

Biography

Early life

Notable works

Survey of the original boundaries of the District of Columbia

Banneker's almanacs

Banneker's journals

Political views

Correspondence with Thomas Jefferson

Death

Artifacts

Mythology and commemorations

Electronic copies of Banneker's publications

See also

Notes

References

Further reading

External links