Benjamin Banneker
 
	
	Benjamin Banneker was born in 1731. His grandfather was a slave from Africa. 
Benjamin grew up on the family farm.  Around a town that was known as "Bannaky Springs"
nicknamed this because of the fresh water springs on the land.  Bannaky used ditches 
and little dams to control the water from the springs for irrigation.  His work was so
 reliable that the Bannaky's crops flourished even in dry spells.  The family of free 
blacks raised good tobacco crops all the time. 
	
	Molly, Banneker's grandmother, taught him and his brothers to read, using her 
Bible as a lesson book.  There was no school in the area for the boys to go to.  Then 
one summer, a Quaker school teacher came to live in the valley.  He set up a school 
for boys.  Benjamin enrolled in this school, he learned to write and do simple 
arithmetic. 
	
	When Banneker was twenty-one a man named Levi gave Banneker a small pocket
watch.  Banneker took the watch apart to see how it worked.  He carved similar watch 
pieces out of wood and made a clock of his own.  The watch he made was considerably 
bigger than the pocket watch and even added a bell to ring on the hour, it was the 
first striking clock to be made in America.  Banneker's clock was so precise it struck 
every hour, on the hour, for over forty years. His work on the clock led him to repair
watches, clocks and sundials.  Banneker even helped Joseph Ellicott to build a clock.  Banneker became close friends with the Ellicott brothers.  The Ellicott brothers were neighbors to Banneker they too had a large farm.  They lent him books on astronomy and mathematics as well as instruments for observing the stars. Banneker taught himself astronomy and advanced mathematics. 
		
	When Banneker's parents died, they left him the farm.  Banneker built a 
"work cabin" with a skylight to study the stars and make calculations.  Working mainly
alone, with few visitors, he compiled results which he published in his Almanac.  
Since he had few visitors he bought himself a violin and a flute, he taught himself 
how to play these two instruments for relaxation.
	
	In 1789 he predicted a solar eclipse, many scientist doubted his predication
but on April 14 just as predicted there was an eclipse.  He began calculating 
ephemerides, which were charts showing the rising and setting of the sun, stars, and
the moon.  His ephemerides were published from 1792 - 1797.
	
	Around this time, Andrew Ellicott, George Ellicott's cousin, asked Banneker 
to help him survey the land for the capital Washington D.C.  Banneker and Ellicott 
worked closely with Pierre L'Enfant who was the architect in charge of the planning. 
Pierre was fired from the project because of his temper. When he left, he took the 
plans with him. Banneker had to recreate the plans from memory, saving the U.S.
government the effort and expense of having someone else design the capital. 
	
	Although Banneker studied and recorded his results until he died, he stopped
publishing his ephemerides due to poor sales. Banneker died on Sunday, October 26,
1806.