Benjamin Banneker Benjamin Banneker was a phenomenal African-American mathematician, astronomer, and inventor. He was born near Baltimore, Md., on November 9, 1731. He was the son of a slave and a free black woman. He grew up as a free black, and while attending school he demonstrated early mathematical ability. His childhood curiosity led him to explore a wide variety of other subjects. In about 1771, he began to make calculations in the field of astronomy. In the …showed first 75 words of 474 total…

…showed last 75 words of 474 total…African-Americans. Banneker’s almanac contained answers to some of the questions he had asked himself to when he was a boy watching the sky. It included cycles if full moons and new moons, times of sunrise and sunset, tide tables for the Chesapeake Bay, and news about festivals and horse habits. Benjamin Banneker was a truly successful person, as well as an outstanding mathematician. His death in Baltimore County, Md., in 1806 was a terrible tragedy.