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Benjamin Banneker

Plan of the city of Washington, D.C., from 1791 shows Banneker's work as surveyor of America's capital

Benjamin Banneker was a self-educated scientist, astronomer, inventor, writer, and antislavery publicist. Banneker built a striking clock entirely from wood, published a Farmers' Almanac, and actively campaigned against slavery.

Benjamin Banneker was born on November 9, 1731, just outside of Baltimore, Maryland, in Ellicott's Mills. He was the descendent of slaves, however, Banneker was born a freeman. At that time the law dictated that if your mother was a slave then you were a slave, and if she was a freewomen then you were a free person. Banneker's grandmother, Molly Walsh, was an English immigrant and an indentured servant who married his grandfather, an African slave named Banna Ka. The name Banna Ka was later changed to Bannaky, and then changed to Banneker. Molly served seven years as an indentured servant after which she acquired and worked her own small farm. Banna Ka was brought to the Colonies by a slave trader. Molly Walsh purchased Banna Ka and another African. Molly's and Banna Ka's daughter Mary (Benjamin's mother) was born free. Benjamin's father, Rodger was a former slave who had bought his own freedom before marrying Mary.

Banneker was educated by Quakers and quickly revealed to the world his inventive nature. Benjamin Banneker first achieved national acclaim for his scientific work in the 1791 survey of the Federal Territory (now Washington, D.C.). In 1753, he built the first watch made in America, a wooden pocket watch. Twenty years later, Banneker began making astronomical calculations that enabled him to successfully forecast a 1789 solar eclipse. His estimate made well in advance of the celestial event, contradicted predictions of better-known mathematicians and astronomers.

Bibliography:

Afro Americans in Science and Invention.
Robert C. Hayden. "Afro Americans in Science and Invention.",
Journal of African Civilizations (November 1959): 59-72.

Black Contributors to Science and Energy Technology.
U.S. Department of Energy (Washington, D.C.: Office of Public Affairs), 1979, p. 12.
DOE/OPA-0035(79)

Blacks in Science and Medicine.
Vivian O. Sammons. (New York, NY: Hemisphere Publishing Corp.), 1990. p.34.

Blacks in Science: Ancient and Modern.
Irvan Van Sertima. (New Brunswick, NJ: Transition Books), 1984. p. 226.

http://inventors.about.com

http://www.princeton.edu

http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/

Otis Boykin: Inventor

Otis Boykin attended Fisk University and Illinois Institute of Technology (1946-47). He is responsible for inventing the electrical device used in all guided missles and IBM computers, plus 26 other electronic devices including a control unit for an artificial heart stimulator (pacemaker). He began his career as a laboratory assistant testing automatic controls for aircraft. One of Boykin's first achievements was a type of resistor used in computers, radios, television sets, and a variety of electronic devices. Some of his other inventions included a variable resistor used in guided missles, small component thick-film resistors for computers. The innovations in resistor design reduced the cost of producing electronic controls for radio and television, for both military and commercial applications. Other inventions by Otis Boykin also included a burglar-proof cash register and chemical air filter. He worked as a private consultant for several American firms and three Paris firms, from 1964 to 1982. Ironically, Otis Boykin, who invented a device to stimulate heart action, died in Chicago, Illinois of heart failure in 1982.