How Did Benjamin Banneker Contribute To Society

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The Man of Many Hats Benjamin Banneker has made many contributions to society and his family throughout his lifetime. He can be called many things including an author, astronomer, surveyor, farmer, mathematician, and inventor. Some of his notable works include creating a wooden clock and publishing multiple almanacs. This is even more incredible considering how he was an African American during times of slavery and segregation. Banneker has done a lot of good things for everyone. Born on November 9, 1731, in Maryland, Banneker grew up in a time where racism and slavery were rampant. However, his dad and his mom were free African Americans, so he was born free with liberties that most African Americans never got to see. His grandmother taught him how to read, but after that he was mostly self taught, besides attending a Quaker school for a short period of time. Since he grew up on a farm, he created an irrigation system so that the crops would continue …show more content…
His clock has let people read time for many, many years and even though we now have more advanced methods of reading the time, his layout is still used in many clocks today. His almanacs were used by a large number of people including farmers, fishermen, and others. He even contributed to the fight for civil rights when he wrote a letter to Thomas Jefferson. This letter addressed the fact that black people were more than slaves. Soon after, Jefferson wrote him back and sent a copy of his almanac to the secretary of the French Academy of Sciences. Benjamin Banneker died an important man on October 9, 1806. He is now widely known and admired for all of his works including his clock and his books (almanacs and others such as information on bees). He had many talents and he used all of them during his lifetime to be as successful as he was in everything he did. He did just about everything from farming to being a mathematician. He truly was, a man of many
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Benjamin Banneker's Letter To Thomas Jefferson

through a lot of discriminations (racism, inequality). It is the sense that Benjamin Banneker was inspired to write and issue letter to Thomas Jefferson. This letter was the first formal document showing protest in the History of America. At this point, we have question which pop out of our mind. Who was Thomas Jefferson? Who was Benjamin Banneker? What was the letter about? Why was the letter significant? Benjamin Banneker was a free black African American born on November 9, 1731 and passed away…

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