Benjamin Banneker

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Benjamin Banneker

Benjamin Banneker (1731-1806)
Without Benjamin Banneker, our nation's capital would not exist as we know it. After a year of work, the Frenchman hired by George Washington to design the capital, L'Enfant, stormed off the job, taking all the plans. Banneker, placed on the planning committee at Thomas Jefferson's request, saved the project by reproducing from memory, in two days, a complete layout of the streets, parks, and major buildings. Thus Washington, D.C. itself can be considered a monument to the genius of this great man.
Banneker's English grandmother immigrated to the Baltimore area and married one of her slaves, named Bannaky. Later, their daughter did likewise, and gave birth to Benjamin in 1731. Since by law, free/slave status depended on the mother, Banneker, like his mother, was---technically---free.
Banneker attended an elementary school run by Quakers (one of the few color-blind communities of that time); in fact, he later adopted many Quaker habits and ideas. As a young man, he was given a pocket-watch by a business associate: this inspired Banneker to create his own clock, made entirely of wood (1753). Famous as the first clock built in the New World, it kept perfect time for forty years. ...

The complete article is about 406 words and 1.62 pages long.

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