Benjamin Banneker 
Benjamin Banneker Died In Baltimore, Maryland, On October 9, 1806, At The Age Of 74.
Banneker Was A Noted Mathematician, Surveyor And Astronomer And The Most Famous Black American Of The Colonial Era. Benjamin Banneker Was Born In Elliocot Mills, In 1731, The Son of A Free Mother Who Purchased A Slave And Then Married Him---Just As Her White, English Servant Mother Had Done. While In His 20's Banneker Built The First Clock Made In America. It Was Constructed Entirely Of Wood And Accurately Recorded Time For 20 Years.
He Also Wrote 10 Almanacs, The First Of Which Was Released In 1792. He Wrote Articles Against Slavery, Capital Punishment And War. He Also Wrote Articles Advocating Free Schooling.
Banneker Was One Of Three Men Assigned By President George Washington To Design The Nation's Capital City. After One Of The Men, Pierre Charles L'Enfant, Abandoned The Project And Went Back To France, Banneker, And Andrew Ellicot Were Left To Complete The Work. Banneker Was Able To Redrew L'Enfant's Designs In A Matter Of Two Days.
"In Order For Black History To Live, We Must Continue To Breathe Life Into It." -- Hubert Gaddy, Jr. Hugh Gaddy
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Posted By: Hugh Gaddy
Thursday, October 8th 2009 at 6:41PM
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