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nThisnis the third annual Sagan Day, a chance to remark on and remember thencontributions of the astronomer and science communicator Carl Sagan.nHe was one of my heroes (I use past tense here because he is, sadly,ndeceased – but I suppose that he still IS one of my heroes,nreally!), so I have to give his special day a shout-out. Find outnmore about him on this or this other post.
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and…
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nInhad to find another astronomer and scientist to honor on Sagan Day.nSo let’s give warm birthday wishes to Benjamin Banneker!
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nBornnon this day in 1731, Benjamin Banneker didn’t have the cushiest life.nThe grandson of a slave and (possibly) an indentured servant, and thenson of a runaway slave, Banneker may have been taught to read andnobserve the night sky by his grandmother, Molly. He was given a bitnof formal education by a Quaker farmer who ran a small school, butnwhen he was old enough to help on his own family’s farm, his formalneducation was over. However, the Quaker man was nice enough to loannBanneker books, and Banneker taught himself math and astronomy bynreading borrowed textbooks. Later, as an adult, Banneker continued tonstudy astronomy using books and equipment loaned to him by anothernQuaker neighbor.
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nBannekernwas hired as a surveyor and eventually was part of a survey teamncreating the boundaries of the District of Columbia, land thatnMaryland and Virginia ceded to the federal government of the U.S. fornthe purpose of building the capital city (Washington, D.C.). Bannekernwas able to use astronomical observations that helped the team figurenout the starting point of the survey, and he maintained a clock usednto relate points on the land to positions of certain stars atnspecific times. All his life, Banneker predicted solar and lunarnrisings and settings and also solar and lunar eclipses; over thenyears he compiled several almanacs containing these predictions,nweather forecasts, and other important information. n
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nItnis interesting to note that, although Banneker was an accomplishednman—and certainly for his race at that time!—the truth didn’tnseem to be enough for people. There have been a lot of stories toldnabout Benjamin Banneker that have made him part myth or even urbannlegend. For example, here is a great little story:
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nAsnI said, Banneker worked on the survey team that created thenboundaries for Washington, D.C. The architect/designer/planner of thencity was Pierre L’Enfant, who was said to have had a bit of a temper.nWhen changes were made to L’Enfant’s plan, he threw a fit and wasnfired from the job. The story goes that L’Enfant was so angry that hentook the completed plans with him, and that the architects andnbuilders would have to start from scratch again—except Bannekernsaved the day! He was able to recreate the plans from memory and thusnsaved the new U.S. government a lot of money!
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nWhichnis great, except for the fact that apparently it didn’t happen.nAccording to historical evidence, Banneker left the job by the timenL’Enfant was completing his plans, several people had copies of thenplans at the time of L’Enfant’s dismissal, and Banneker never saw thenplans, let alone recreated them from memory.
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| Almost everything about this piece is wrong. Thomas Jefferson didn’t suggest Banneker for the commission, nor was he on the commission. Banneker did made a clock, but it wasn’t the first clock in America, not by a long shot! |
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nTherenare other exaggerations and fictions told about Banneker. Which seemsnstrange to me, since the reality of Benjamin Banneker is already veryninteresting and wonderful!
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