Fifth Short Biography
Born: Nov 9, 1731, in Baltimore County, MD
Died: Oct 9, 1806 (at age 74) in Baltimore County, MD
Nationality: African-American
Famous For: Developing a mathematical formula to predict a solar eclipse
He was an African-American scientist and astronomer who was also quite distinguished for crafting an almanac. His background as a farmer helped him create a very well received almanac when it first was published.
Who is he?
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1 solution
"Benjamin Banneker was born in Baltimore, MD, in 1731. He was the son of a free woman and a former slave father. Banneker really did not have much of a formal education. His grandmother taught him how to read and he briefly attended a Quaker school.
Banneker was mainly self-taught and his personal motivations for learning helped him develop a high level of skill in math and the sciences. Banneker’s primary profession was farming and he owned his own farm. An interest in astronomy developed through gazing at the sun, the moon, and the stars while he would work on his farm all day and into the night.
He did more than just stargaze when he looked at the sky. Banneker would gain insights on how the celestial world worked and this would contribute to not only passing interest in astronomy, but an observed learning of it that was more than casual. He eventually learned to predict lunar and solar eclipses based on what he absorbed from his learning and mathematical equations that he formulated.
Banneker also borrowed math textbooks and he would teach himself based on what he read in the books."
-http://famous-mathematicians.org/