Contribution towards Mathematic, as well as the numerous achievements in the subject did not come easily, and thus, it required the contribution of many scholars, Benjamin Banneker being one of them. As such, this paper will analyze the roles that Banneker played in the subject, and some of his achievements during his time.
Benjamin Banneker was an African-American scientist who was born on the 9 th of November, 1731 in Ellicott’s Mills which is currently in Oella, Maryland. He died on the 19 th of October, 1806 in Baltimore, Maryland (Walker, 2014). In spite of him periodically attending a Quaker schoolhouse, the mathematician was mainly self-educated. As such, he carried out lots of his learning via the avid reading of the books that he borrowed, and as a result, he was able to acquire significant skills in Mathematic.
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Banneker had lots of fun in coming up with Mathematical puzzles, as well as providing solutions to the puzzles that other people took to him (Walker, 2014). He observed patterns of astronomy which he used to make calculations, as well as predictions. He was also able to develop a wooden clock when he was still a young man who was barely twenty years of age though he had not seen any. It was the first clock to be developed in America.
It is alleged that the design of the clock was based on the designer’s recollections of the technology of the pocket watch ( Wadsworth & Orback, 2003) . The clock was also visualized as a Mathematical puzzle, associating its many gears and toothed wheels, carving every bit of the hardwoods in a carefully calculated manner with a pocket knife. It is critical to emphasize that the clock kept exact time for over fifty years. Moreover, his knowledge in Mathematic, as well as his ability to observe the astronomical patterns made it possible for him to apply astronomical calculations, and hence, he successfully forecast a solar eclipse in 1789. He got encouraged in the astronomical study by George Ellicott who was an amateur astronomer and a Quaker.
Banneker also made lots of crucial observations in astronomical patterns in 1791 as he worked alongside Andrew Ellicott, and other scientists in conducting a survey on the land that later became the national capital, Washington D.C ( Wadsworth & Orback, 2003) . He also wrote Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Virginia Almanac and Ephemers. The almanac had information about medical treatment, as well as medicines. It also included the astronomical information, listed tides, and the calculation of eclipses by Banneker. Banneker was also involved in compiling the tide tables for the almanacs. He made use of the daily retardation that was of standard of four-fifth of an hour, or the forty eight minutes. Such a determination of the spring tides or the highest tides waters on the days of the full or new moon was referred to as the port’s establishment, and was manifested on the tables for the port in question. Banneker also recorded the atmospheric phenomena that he observed in the astronomical journals. He also included miscellaneous activities in astronomy and Mathematic.
Banneker also published journals on a yearly basis from 1791 to 1802 ( Pinkney & Pinkney, 2012 ). His first copy of almanac was sent to the then Secretary of State, Thomas Jefferson in which he questioned the sincerity of the slave owners as a “friend to liberty.” He asked Jefferson to assist in getting rid of the false and absurd ideas that the white race is superior to the rest of the races. Banneker advocated for the civil rights as he opposed slavery. Additionally, he asked Jefferson to assist in creating better conditions for the African-Americans.
Banneker also went on to calculate the ephemerides for five years. The ephemerides were then sold and published in almanacs with Banneker’s name on the cover page. Banneker included the tables of measures and weights, depreciation scales and interest rates, coinages, cities’ distances, from the location of publication, measurement of roads, and the meeting’s calendar of the law courts holding sessions where the selling of the almanacs would take place.
To conclude, Banneker was a mathematician, a civil rights activist, and a scientist who contributed immensely in the areas in which he engaged in as already explained in the paragraphs above.
References
Pinkney, A. D., & Pinkney, J. B. (2012). Hand in hand: Ten Black men who changed America. New York: Disney/Jump at the Sun.
Wadsworth, G., & Orback, C. (2003). Benjamin Banneker: Pioneering scientist . Minneapolis: Carolrhoda Books.
Walker, E. N. (2014). Beyond Banneker: Black Mathematicians and the Paths to Excellence
