Benjamin Banneker: Brilliant Surveyor, Mathematician, and Astronomer
Slaves who were often forced to work on plantations r e c e i v e d n o p a y f o r t h e i r l a b o r farm On November 9 1731 they welcomed their first child a son they named Benjamin Benjamin would grow up to become a prominent mathematician and astronomer Later in life he would use his position as a great thinker to challenge racism and slavery 6
The Dogons Some scholars believe Benjamin’s grandfather Banneka may have belonged to a group called the Dogons before he was enslaved The Dogons lived in western Africa in what is now Mali They used advanced farming techniques such as irrigation They studied astronomy and were known for their accurate star charts Banneka used this knowledge when he was living in America and passed it down to his family Banneka’s knowledge may have laid the foundation for some of Benjamin’s scientific interests and ideas 7 Banneka’s Background The Banneky family took its name from Benjamin’s maternal grandfather Banneka The son of an African chief Banneka had been captured in Africa and sold into slavery After arriving in North America Banneka was purchased by a white woman named Molly Welsh Welsh had also arrived in the colonies against her will Years before Welsh had worked as a dairymaid in England After knocking over a bucket of milk she was transported or sent to the American colonies as an indentured servant This meant she would
The Banneker family tended their own tobacco farm work for no pay for seven years before receiving her own land In 1683 she arrived in the English colony of Maryland where she went to work for a farmer 8
At the end of her seven-year indenture Welsh started her own tobacco farm She bought two slaves to do farm work One was Banneka After several years Welsh’s farm was doing well and she was able to free her slaves Soon after Banneka and Welsh’s relationship changed and they started a family Their daughter Mary grew up to marry a freed slave named Robert Robert had no last name so the couple used Mary’s last name They spelled it Banneky The Bannekys lived on the family property until purchasing their own farm several years after Benjamin’s birth A Young Mathematician While Mary and Robert worked on the farm Benjamin’s grandmother Molly took care of him He called her Big Ma-Ma She taught him to read and write using the only book she had the Bible She also taught him basic math Benjamin learned quickly He started figuring out more complicated math for himself By the time he was six years old family members and neighbors were asking him for help with 9
