Baxter Bulletin from Mountain Home, Arkansas • 8

THE BAXTER BULLETIN, Mountain Home, Ark. Wednesday, February 2, 201 1 Page 8A World of Wonder EXPLORING THE REALMS OF HISTORY. SCIENCE, NATURE AND TECHNOLOGY The 1795 almanac displays a woodcut of Banneker. I a uVanag I7yjj' -1 1 1 Cek icuruitu us uic iiim African-American man of science, he pursued astronomy, farming, mathematics, publishing, writing and surveying. Overcoming the racial i prejudices of his era, he Accomplishments In addition to Banneker's impressive genius as a mathematician and astronomer, he also strongly opposed slavery, racism and war.

His letters, articles, essays and almanacs called for the equality of African-Americans. In 1 792, when he sent a copy of his first almanac to Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, he included a letter that challenged ideas about the inferiority of blacks and called for the abolition of slavery. championed the rights of African-Americans. Family history Very little of Benjamin Banneker's family ancestry can be verified because few historical records have survived. Scholars debate his heritage to this day.

We do know that Banneker entered the world in Maryland on Nov. 9, 1731 and that his father and grandfather were former slaves. According to some sources, Banneker's grandmother was Molly Welsh, an English girl who came to the British colonies as an indentured servant (sentenced for the crime of stealing milk). After serving her time, Welsh rented (or owned) a farm and bought two African slaves, whom she freed several years later. She married her former slave, Bannke (or Bannaka), and together they had a daughter Mary, who also married a former slave (a man named Robert) Benjamin Banneker was their son.

It should be noted that Banneker described himself only as having African ancestry and that the above story was related years after Benjamin's death. Early days Banneker grew up on a modest property near Baltimore. Not far from the Banneker farm lived Peter Heinrichs, a Quaker farmer. (At the time, Quakers were leaders in the anti-slavery movement.) The two men became close friends, and they spent hours reading in Heinrichs' personal library. For a few winters, Banneker attended a small, interracial school established by Heinrichs.

Banneker showed a keen interest in mathematics, science and mechanics. His formal education ended when he became old enough to work on the family farm. The wood clock In 1753, Banneker took a pocket watch apart and made drawings of each component. From his drawings and personal calculations, Banneker carved each gear by hand and constructed a wooden clock that kept accurate time and struck the hours until it was destroyed in a Jire 40 years. later.

Surveyor's Gregorian reflecting telescope (1734-1772): This telescope produced upright images and could be used in the field. It was ideal for terrestrial viewing and for looking at objects in the sky. compass: Measured horizontal angles using magnetic north Controversial contributions There is no doubt that Banneker was a great man of many accomplishments, but some of his contributions remain controversial, and historians dispute the following: That Banneker (and his photographic memory) reconstructed in just two days the plans of Washington (complete with streets, parks and major buildings) when the dismissed French surveyor Pierre Charles L'Enfant took the blueprints away. That Banneker also accurately pointed out the sites where the White House, Capitol and even the U.S. Treasury Building stand today.

In the end Banneker never married and spent most of his life living alone, farming, studying and conducting experiments. Over the years, he developed a problem with alcoholism. When he needed money, he rented or sold off parcels of his land. When he became too old and sick to work, he gave (or sold) the farm to the Ellicotts, in exchange for a small pension and permission to live in the farmhouse for the rest of his life. Sextant: A navigation instrument used for measuring angles, primarily altitudes of celestial bodies.

Quadrant: Used to determine the altitude of heavenly bodies. i The almanacs When Banneker returned from his survey work, he began to make astronomical calculations that predicted solar and lunar eclipses for his ephemeris (a table that shows the position of celestial bodies). He published his first almanac in 1 792. It included weather forecasts, tidal tables and a schedule for the rising and setting of the sun and moon, along with his carefully calculated ephemeris. Political and humanitarian commentaries, along with feast days and home remedies for The Ellicott family In the 1770s, Banneker became good friends with another Quaker family, the Ellicotts.

The Ellicott brothers built several gristmills along the Patapsco River in Baltimore County. George Ellicott, a and amateur astronomer, happily shared his books and equipment with a fellow enthusiast (Banneker). In 1788, at age 58, Banneker began a more formal study of astronomy and completed a thesis on solar eclipses (which he sent to his friend George Ellicott). In 1791, Banneker accompanied Andrew Ellicott to the banks of the Potomac, Banneker's hand-carved wooden clock may have looked like this. iniiiimiMu f' 1 Benjamin 0' I rp where they surveyed the boundaries of Benjamin Banneker died on Oct.

9, 1806, at the age of 75. On the day of his funeral, a fire (possibly deliberate) consumed his farmhouse. Sadly, the laboratory, journals, manuscripts and even the clock he made in his youth were destroyed. illnesses, were also included. Between 1792 and 1797, Banneker published six annual almanacs in 28 editions.

They were printed and sold in six cities in four states (Baltimore, Philadelphia, Wilmington, Alexandria, Petersburg and Richmond, These almanacs were commercial successes and even became well-known in England and France. I' 1 1 a i ii ic liou lui ui lyuiui i iuia ic i tauui i i icw capital). Banneker had made astronomical observations at Jones Point in Alexandria, that decided the location of the starting point for the survey. He also maintained a clock that measured the locations of the stars in conjunction with points on the ground. Historical records show that Banneker was paid S60 (about S600 in 2000) for his survey work and travel costs.

In 1980, the U.S. Postal Service issued a postage stamp in Banneker's honor. SOURCES World Book Encyctooedia Wwtd Book The Lite ot Benjamin Banneker by Silvre A Bedrw fLandmartt Enterprises. 1984) Maryland Historical Socety, www.dcpages com; www.btadunventor.corn lillitiMII III i irirrf i ntiftn ifii ir- i tn-m ti a -frimi 2011 TtieteW Studios Inc. Dtstrfcuted by United Feature Syndicate, Inc.

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