Banneker, whose schooling and scientific training was minimal, had a clear talent for mathematics and machines, writes the Library of Congress. He was also a talented astronomer—a skill that proved useful in producing the Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia Almanac and Ephemeris , which he published from to As a gentleman farmer, Banneker had many opportunities to examine the natural world around him.
Many of those insights were captured in the Almanac or his other writings. His almanac predicted eclipses and other astronomical events, offered medical information and listed the tides , the Library writes. In , when Banneker was fifty-nine, he sent a copy of the almanac for to Thomas Jefferson, who was then the U.
Included with that almanac was a now-famous letter to Jefferson. Scholar Angela G. Ray writes :. Justifying his right to speak to the secretary of state on such a topic, Banneker argued from moral compulsion based on recognition of deep injustice. He worked in the observatory tent using a zenith sector to record the movement of the stars.
However, due to a sudden illness, Banneker was only able to work for Ellicott for about three months. Banneker's true acclaim, however, came from his almanacs, which he published for six consecutive years during the later years of his life, between and These handbooks included his own astronomical calculations as well as opinion pieces, literature and medical and tidal information, with the latter particularly useful to fishermen.
Outside of his almanacs, Banneker also published information on bees and calculated the cycle of the year locust. Banneker's accomplishments extended into other realms as well, including civil rights. In , Jefferson was secretary of state and Banneker considered the respected Virginian, though a slaveholder, to also be open to view African Americans as more than slaves. Jefferson quickly acknowledged Banneker's letter, writing a response. Banneker's outspokenness with regard to the issue of slavery earned him the widespread support of the abolitionist societies in Maryland and Pennsylvania, both of which helped him publish his almanac.
I thank you sincerely for your letter of the 19th. I have taken the liberty of sending your almanac to Monsieur de Condorcet, Secretary of the Academy of sciences at Paris, and member of the Philanthropic society because I considered it as a document to which your whole colour had a right for their justification against the doubts which have been entertained of them.
I am with great esteem, Sir, Your most obedt. Never married, Banneker continued to conduct his scientific studies throughout his life. By , sales of his almanac had declined and he discontinued publication. In the following years, he sold off much of his farm to the Ellicotts and others to make ends meet, continuing to live in his log cabin. On October 9, , after his usual morning walk, Banneker died in his sleep, just a month short of his 75th birthday.
On Tuesday, October 11, at the family burial ground a few yards from this house, Benjamin Banneker was laid to rest. During the services, mourners were startled to see his house had caught on fire, quickly burning down. Nearly everything was destroyed, including his personal effects, furniture and wooden clock.
The cause of the fire was never determined. With limited materials having been preserved related to Banneker's life and career, there's been a fair amount of legend and misinformation presented.
In , scholar Sylvio A. A revised edition appeared in We strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us! Subscribe to the Biography newsletter to receive stories about the people who shaped our world and the stories that shaped their lives.
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