Born November 9, 1731 (Baltimore County, Maryland)

Died October 9, 1806 (Baltimore County, Maryland)

Mathematician, astronomer

Benjamin Banneker was an accomplished self-taught mathematician and astronomer. He is considered America's first black scientist. Banneker calculated the daily position of celestial bodies (visible stars and planets in the night sky) and printed this information in charts, which he published in yearly almanacs. His almanacs also featured calendars, times of sunrise and sunset, phases of the moon, and other useful information. Banneker's almanacs for the years 1792 to 1797 were widely published. They brought international attention to Banneker, in large part because it was an unparalleled achievement for a black American to publish at all at that time in history.

In 1791, Banneker assisted in the land survey of the future site of Washington, D.C. Perhaps Banneker's greatest accomplishment was his plea for civil rights in his correspondence with then-U.S. secretary of state Thomas...