Dear Benjamin Banneker


Book Description

Banneker, a free black mathematician and astronomer, takes a stand against slavery and writes Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson about his slave-owning policies.




The Life of Benjamin Banneker


Book Description

Immerse Yourself in the Life and Times of the Nation's First Black ScientistBenjamin Banneker, celebrated today as the nation's first Black scientist and man of letters, was a largely self-taught mathematician, surveyor, and astronomer who came of age during America's revolutionary period. Silvio Bedini's acclaimed and definitive biography, The Life of Benjamin Banneker, is his story.Banneker was born a free Black in 1731 and quickly exhibited an extraordinary facility for mathematics. Through his study of astronomy, he accurately predicted the solar eclipse that occurred in 1789, but his true acclaim is based on the almanacs he published between 1792 and 1797, which contained tidal information from Maryland to Canada, population figures for the burgeoning United States, astronomical data and weather predictions, and a wide variety of writings and occurrences of the time. He was instrumentally one of the nation's earliest record keepers.In 1791, Banneker also demonstrated his role as an advocate for civil rights when he sent a copy of one of his almanac manuscripts to Thomas Jefferson (the nation's first Secretary of State), in which he enclosed a letter that challenged the Secretary's views on slavery and advocated for its abolishment. Both the letter and Jefferson's reply were soon published, notably representing two prevalent forces of the era in contrasting the humanitarian perspective of Banneker with those of the politician Jefferson, thus delineating a point of contention that continues to resonate today.Using primary source material, author Silvio Bedini explores the facts, myths, and legends surrounding Benjamin Banneker. This republished revised and expanded edition, complete with over 75 photographs of documents and tools, skillfully captures the life of a gifted Black man living during eighteenth-century America. It is a vivid portrayal that readers will find engaging from its first page to its last.




Benjamin Banneker


Book Description

The first biography of a major figure in early US and African American history A household name and unparalleled hero revered in every African American household, Benjamin Banneker was a completely self-taught mathematical genius who achieved professional status in astronomy, navigation, and engineering. His acknowledged expertise and superior surveying skills led to his role as coworker with the Founding Fathers in planning our nation’s capitol, Washington, DC. His annual Banneker’s Almanac was the first written by a black and outsold the major competition. In addition, he was a vocal force in the fight for the abolition of slavery. Yet, despite his accomplishments, there has been no biography of this important man—until now. Written by an author with strong ties across the Washington-Maryland-Virginia area where abolitionist societies revered Banneker, this long overdue biography at last gives the hard-earned attention this prominent hero and his accomplishments deserve.




Benjamin Banneker


Book Description

True or False? Benjamin Banneker used a telescope and mathematics to predict a solar eclipse. True! In 1789, Banneker calculated when the moon would pass between the earth and sun. And he did it without any formal math or science training. As a young boy, he worked on the farm owned by his father, who was a freed slave in Maryland. He helped to survey and plot out the site for the U.S. capital city, Washington, D.C. He also published several almanacs that helped farmers, merchants, and sailors predict the weather and know the dates of holidays and festivals.




Benjamin Banneker, Genius of Early America


Book Description

A biography of the distinguished eighteenth-century black astronomer, farmer, mathematician, and surveyor whose accomplishments include having published a popular almanac and constructed the first completely American-made clock.




Ticktock Banneker's Clock


Book Description

Throughout his life, Benjamin Banneker was known and admired for his work in science, mathematics, and astronomy, just to name a few pursuits. But even when he was born in Maryland in 1731, he was already an extraordinary person for that time period. He was born free at a time in America when most African Americans were slaves. Though he only briefly attended school and was largely self-taught, at a young age Benjamin displayed a keen aptitude for mathematics and science. Inspired by a pocket watch he had seen, at the age of 22 he built a strike clock based on his own drawings and using a pocket-knife. This picture book biography focuses on one episode in a remarkable life.




Benjamin Banneker


Book Description

The Journey to Freedom (R) series provides comprehensive information and honest portrayals of key African-American people and events, illuminating achievements and contributions that have shaped the history of our nation-and our world. Book jacket.




Benjamin Banneker


Book Description

"An introduction to the life of Benjamin Banneker, the African American astronomer and mathematician who helped survey Washington, D.C., and who wrote several successful almanacs"--Title page verso.




Benjamin Banneker: Brilliant Surveyor, Mathematician, and Astronomer


Book Description

This title is a brief, yet informative, biography on Benjamin Banneker. Readers will learn about Banneker's early life, personal life, and all about his contributions to science, surveying, the Farmers' Almanac, and for his campaign against slavery. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. Core Library is an imprint of Abdo Publishing, a division of ABDO.




Molly Bannaky


Book Description

Relates how Benjamin Banneker's grandmother journeyed from England to Maryland in the late seventeenth century, worked as an indentured servant, began a farm of her own, and married a freed slave.