Benjamin Banneker

Benjamin Banneker was a Black American scientist, astronomer and surveyor. Born free in 1731 to a mulatto mother and a formerly enslaved African father, Banneker received a private educated through the 8th grade and continued to be a self-taught scholar for the rest of his life. He created the first wooden clock in North America, successfully predicted the solar eclipse of 1789 and published a poplar almanac with reliable weather and medical information as well as poems and essays against slavery for more than a decade. Banneker was appointed by George Washington to assist in designing the blueprints for Washington D.C. as the Nation’s Capital. He corresponded with Thomas Jefferson to refute the future President’s position on the inferiority of Black people. "The color of the skin is in no way connected with the strength of the mind or intellectual powers." He wrote.  Impressed, Jefferson shared Banneker’s work with the French Academy of Sciences in Paris.https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/bannekerreno.htmIllustration By Nate TalyorThe Joy Trip Project celebrates Black History Month. The Unhidden Minute is part of the Unhidden Podcast Project supported through a National Geographic Explorer Grant from the National Geographic Society, with the cooperation of the National Park Service. This series elevates the untold stories of Black American history.#unhiddenblackhistory #NationalParkService #yourparkstory #NationalGeographic #unhiddenminuteBecome a paid subscriber to the Unhidden Minute Podcast for one year and receive a copy of The Adventure Gap: Changing the Face of the Outdoors 10th Anniversary Edition by James Edward Mills. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jamesedwardmills.substack.com/subscribe