Mythology of Benjamin Banneker
According to accounts that began to appear during the 1960s or earlier, a substantial mythology has exaggerated the accomplishments of Benjamin Banneker (1731–1806), who was a free African-American almanac author, surveyor, landowner and farmer who had knowledge of mathematics, astronomy and natural history. Well-known speakers, writers, artists and others have created, repeated and embellished a large number of such questionable reports during the two centuries that have elapsed since Banneker lived.[1][2]
Several such urban legends describe Banneker's alleged activities in the Washington, D.C., area around the time that he assisted Andrew Ellicott in the initial survey of the boundaries of the future federal district.[2][3] Others involve his clock, his astronomical works, his almanacs and his journals.[2][4] Although part of African-American culture, all lack support by historical evidence. Some are contradicted by such evidence.
A United States postage stamp and the names of a number of recreational and cultural facilities, schools, streets, and other facilities and institutions throughout the United States have commememorated Banneker's documented and mythical accomplishments during the two centuries since he lived (see Commemorations of Benjamin Banneker).
Plan of the City of Washington
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While Andrew Ellicott and his team were conducting a survey of the boundaries of the future federal district during 1791-1792 (see Boundary Markers of the Original District of Columbia), Pierre (Peter) Charles L'Enfant was preparing a plan for the federal capital city (the City of Washington) (see L'Enfant Plan).[6][7] The capital city was to occupy a relatively small area bounded by Rock Creek, the Potomac River, the Anacostia River (known at the time as the "Eastern Branch") and the base of the escarpment of the Atlantic Seaboard Fall Line.[6][8][9]
The capital city was to be located at the center of the much larger 100-square-mile (260 km2) federal district, which was known at the time as the "Territory of Columbia" (see Founding of Washington, D.C.).[6][8][10] In late February 1792, President George Washington dismissed L'Enfant, who had failed to have his plan published and who was experiencing frequent conflicts with the three Commissioners that Washington had appointed to supervise the planning and survey of the federal district and city.[6][11][12]
Silvio Bedini (1981)
A number of undocumented stories connecting Benjamin Banneker with the planning and survey of the federal capital city have appeared over the years. During the late 1900s and early 2000s, historian Silvio Bedini wrote and performed research about Banneker that refuted some of these tales while working in Washington, D.C. for over 40 years at the Smithsonian Institution's Museum of History and Technology/National Museum of American History.[13][14]
In a 1969 publication, Bedini reported that a story connecting Banneker with the survey and planning of the federal city had appeared within a work that a member of the Ellicott family had edited. The Friends' (Quakers') Book Association published the work in Philadelphia during 1884.
The story stated:
Major Ellicott selected Benjamin Banneker as his assistant upon this occasion, and it was with his aid that the lines of the Federal Territory, as the District of Columbia was then called, were run.
It was the work, also of Major Elllicott, under the orders of General Washington, then President of the United States, to locate the sites of the Capitol, President's House, Treasury and other public buildings. In this, also, Banneker was his assistant.[15]
Bedini noted that writers had repeated and embellished the story, sometimes in conflicting ways.[16] One version of the tale claims that Banneker "made astronomical calculations and implementations" that established points of significance within the city, including those of the White House, the Capitol, the Treasury Building and the "16th Street Meridian" (see White House meridian). Other versions state that Banneker assisted Andrew Ellicott in locating the sites of some or all of those features or "laid out Washington".[17]
Daniel A. P. Murray
In 1921, Daniel A. P. Murray, an African American serving as an assistant librarian of the Library of Congress, read a paper before the Banneker Association of Washington that connected Banneker with L'Enfant's plan for the capital city. The paper stated:
... L'Enfant made a demand that could not be accorded and ... in a fit of high dudgeon gathered all his plans and papers and unceremoniously left. ... Washington was in despair, since it involved a defeat of all of his cherished plans in regard to the "Federal City." This perturbation on his part was quickly ended, however, when it transpired that Banneker had daily for the purposes of calculation and practice, transcribed nearly all L'Enfant's field notes and through the assistance they afforded Mr. Andrew Ellicott, L'Enfant's assistant, Washington City was laid down very nearly on the original lines. ... By this act the brain of the Afro-American is indissolubly linked with the Capital and nation.[18]
In 1976 (more than 50 years later), Jerome Klinkowitz stated within a book that described the works of Banneker and other early black American writers that Murray's report had initiated a myth about Banneker's career. Klinkowitz noted that Murray had not provided any support for his claim that Banneker had recalled L'Enfant's plan for Washington, D.C. Klinkowitz also described a number of other Banneker myths and subsequent works that had refuted them.[19]
By 1929, variations of the myth had become widespread. When describing the ceremonial presentation to Howard University in Washington, D.C., of a sundial memorializing Banneker, the Chicago Defender newspaper reported in that year that a speaker had claimed that:
.... he (Banneker) was appointed by President George Washington to aid Major L'Enfant, famed French architect, to plan the layout of the District of Columbia. L'Enfant died before the work was completed, which required Banneker to carry on in his stead.[20]
However, as a book that won the 1917 Pulitzer Prize for History had earlier reported, L'Enfant lived long after he developed his plan for the federal capital city. He died near the City of Washington in 1825.[21]
A lobby in the Recorder of Deeds Building, which was constructed from 1940 to 1943 in Washington, D.C., displays a U.S. Treasury Department, Section of Fine Arts mural that perpetuates a Banneker legend. The mural features an imaginary portrait of Banneker as a young man, an 1800 Plan of the City of Washington, William Thornton's design for the west view of the Capitol building and a model of the White House. A corner of the mural portrays Banneker and Andrew Ellicott showing to three men a map of the area between the "Potowmack River" and the Eastern Branch within which the City of Washington would later be planned.[22]
The oil portrait was the winner of a juried competition that the Section held on behalf of Doctor William J. Thompkins, an African-American political figure who was at the time serving as the Recorder of Deeds for the District of Columbia. The competition announcement stated that seven mural subjects had been "carefully worked out by the Recorder...following intensive research" to "reflect a phase of the contribution of the Negro to the American nation." A mural on the subject of "Benjamin Banneker Surveys the District of Columbia" was to "show the presentation by Banneker and Mayor Ellicott, of the plans of the District of Columbia to the President, [and] Mr. Thomas Jefferson" in the presence of Benjamin Franklin and Alexander Hamilton.[23]
In 1949, an activist for African-American causes, Shirley Graham, authored a book about Banneker's life entitled Your Humble Servant. Graham's notes on her sources stated that she had constructed the book's story "within the framework of little known true facts". Her notes further stated that "all dates and main events can be documented" and that she had filled in all gaps with incidents of whose probability she was convinced.[24] However, when describing Graham's book in a 1972 biography of Banneker, Silvio Bedini stated that her work had been written for young people, was highly fictionalized and, having become popular, had "resulted in yet more confusion concerning Banneker's achievements and their importance".[25]
Graham's account of Banneker's involvement in the origins of the District of Columbia stated that Banneker worked with L'Enfant during the planning and survey of the federal district. Her story told that in early 1792, L'Enfant "packed everything and departed --- taking the plans with him." When Banneker learned of this, he took an adventurous trip to his home in Ellicott's Mills, Maryland. While at home, Banneker reconstructed L'Enfant's plan from memory within a three-day period. The redrawn plan provided the framework for the later development of the city of Washington.[26]
A number of books, reports and websites have repeated or extended Graham's fable before and after the publication of Bedini's 1972 biography.[27] Titles of works relating various versions of Graham's tale have touted Banneker as "The Man Who Designed Washington", "The Man Who Saved Washington", "An Early American Hero", "Benjamin Banneker, Genius", and as one of the "100 Greatest African Americans".[28]
In 1976, an Afro-American Bicentennial Corporation historian told the following tale within a National Register of Historic Places nomination form for the "Benjamin Banneker: SW-9 Intermediate Boundary Stone (milestone) of the District of Columbia":
.... Major L'Enfant resigned his position before the planned design was completed. It was only through the efforts of Major Andrew Ellicott and Benjamin Banneker that the Federal City was completed.[29]
Citing a 1963 article in the Washington Star newspaper,[30] a 1990 documentation form related the following version of the story when supporting a listing in the National Register of Historic Places for twelve historic marker stones from the federal district boundary survey:
.... Fearing profiteering land speculators, L'Enfant would not allow anyone to see the plan. Ordered by the commissioners to reveal the plan, he instead left the United States, taking all copies of his plan for the District of Columbia with him. Banneker reproduced it from memory in minute detail, thereby allowing the work to continue.[31]
During a commemoration of Black History Month in February 1990, Congressman Roy Dyson of Maryland told the United States House of Representatives that Banneker had "helped to draw the plans for the District of Columbia".[32] Congressman Benjamin Gilman of New York stated during the same commemoration that Banneker had assisted in the layout of "our beautiful Capitol City".[33]
During Congress' February 2000 commemoration of Black History Month, Congressman Major Owens of New York stated that Banneker was part of a commission that determined how Washington would be laid out and had reconstructed some of L'Enfant's plans from memory after they were lost. After crediting the African-American historian/author Carter Woodson as the source of this information, Owens stated: "There was a black man, Benjamin Banneker, involved. Nobody bothers to note that."[34]
Documents published in 2003 and 2005 supporting the establishment of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. (including a report that a presidential commission planning the museum sent to the President and the Congress), later also connected Banneker with L'Enfant's plan of the city of Washington.[35][36] When the museum opened on the National Mall in September 2016, an exhibit entitled "The Founding of America" further perpetuated the legend when displaying a statue of Banneker holding a small telescope while standing in front of a plan of that city.[37]
News reports of the museum's opening stated that Banneker "was called on to help design Washington, D.C." and "is credited with helping map the layout of the nation's capital".[38] A National Park Service web page subsequently stated in 2017 that Banneker had "surveyed the city of Washington with Major Pierre Charles L'Enfant".[39]
However, historical research has shown that none of these legends can be correct.[13][40][41] As Bedini reported in 1969, Ellicott's 1791 assignment was to produce a survey of a square, the length of whose sides would each be 10 miles (16.1 km) (a "ten mile square").[10] L'Enfant was to survey, design and lay out the national capital city within this square.[10][42] Ellicott and L'Enfant each worked independently under the supervision of the three Commissioners that President Washington had earlier appointed.[10] Bedini could not find any evidence that showed that Banneker had ever worked with or for L'Enfant.[10][40]
Banneker left the federal capital area and returned to his home near Ellicott's Mills in April 1791.[40][43][44] At that time, L'Enfant was still developing his plan for the federal city and had not yet been dismissed from his job.[40] L'Enfant presented his plans to President Washington in June and August 1791, two and four months after Banneker had left.[40][43][45][46][47]
Further, there never was any need to reconstruct L'Enfant's plan. After completing the initial phases of the district boundary survey, Andrew Ellicott began to survey the future federal city's site to help L'Enfant develop the city's plan.[48] During a contentious period in February 1792, Ellicott informed the Commissioners that L'Enfant had refused to give him an original plan that L'Enfant possessed at the time.[49][50]
Ellicott stated in his letters that, although he was refused the original plan, he was familiar with L'Enfant's system and had many notes of the surveys that he had made himself.[51] Additionally, L' Enfant had earlier given to Washington at least two versions of his plan, one of which Washington had sent to Congress in December 1791.[45][46][52]
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Andrew Ellicott, with the aid of his brother, Benjamin Ellicott, then revised L'Enfant's plan, despite L'Enfant's protests.[49][54][55][56] Shortly thereafter, Washington dismissed L'Enfant.[49][54][55]
After L'Enfant departed, the Commissioners assigned to Ellicott the dual responsibility for continuing L'Enfant's work on the design of the city and the layout of public buildings, streets, and property lots, in addition to completing the boundary survey.[10][40] Andrew Ellicott therefore continued the city survey in accordance with the revised plan that he and his brother had prepared.[11][45][49][55][57][58]
There is no historical evidence that shows that Banneker was involved in any of this.[13][54] Six months before Ellicott revised L'Enfant's plan, Banneker sent a letter to Thomas Jefferson from "Maryland, Baltimore County, near Ellicotts Lower Mills" that he dated as "Augt. 19th: 1791", in which he described the time that he had earlier spent "at the Federal Territory by the request of Mr. Andrew Ellicott".[59]
As a researcher has reported, the letter that Ellicott addressed to the Commissioners in February 1792 describing his revision of L'Enfant's plan did not mention Banneker's name.[60] Jefferson did not describe any connection between Banneker and the plan for the federal city when relating his knowledge of Banneker's works in a letter that he sent to Joel Barlow in 1809, three years after Banneker's death.[61]
L'Enfant did not leave the United States after ending his work on the federal capital city's plan. Soon afterwards, he began to plan the city of Paterson, New Jersey.[62] The United States Congress acknowledged the work that he had performed when preparing his plan for the city of Washington by voting to pay him for his efforts.[63]
In 1887, the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey created and distributed a facsimile of a manuscript plan for the future City of Washington. The plan contains in the last line of an oval in its upper left hand corner the words "By Peter Charles L'Enfant" (L'Enfant's adopted name).[5] A 1914 book describing the history of the City of Washington reported that L'Enfant's plan contained a title legend that identified L'Enfant as the plan's author.[64]
A 1902 report of a committee of the United States Senate (the McMillan Plan), an inlay of a city plan in a Washington, D.C., plaza constructed in 1980 (Freedom Plaza), and at least one book relating the history of the District of Columbia, contain copies of the portion of a plan for the federal capital city that contains the oval that bears L'Enfant's name.[9][65][a 1] The U.S. Library of Congress now holds in its collections a manuscript of a plan for the federal city that contains that oval.[66] As an original version of L'Enfant's plan still exists, President Washington and Ellicott clearly had at least one such version available for their use when L'Enfant departed.
In November 1971, the National Park Service held a public ceremony to dedicate and name Benjamin Banneker Park on L'Enfant Promenade in Washington, D.C.[67][68] The United States Department of the Interior authorized the naming as an official commemorative designation celebrating Banneker's role in the survey and design of the nation's capital.[68]
Austin H. Kiplinger (1981)
Speakers at the event hailed Banneker for his contributions to the plan of the capital city after L'Enfant's dismissal, claiming that Banneker had saved the plan by reconstructing it from memory.[67] Bedini later pointed out in a 1999 biography of Banneker that these statements were erroneous.[67]
During a 1997 ceremony that again commemorated Banneker while rededicating the park, speakers stated that Banneker had surveyed the original City of Washington.[69] However, research reported more than two decades earlier had found that such statements lacked supporting evidence and appeared to be incorrect.[13]
In May 2000, Austin H. Kiplinger and Walter E. Washington, the co-chairmen of the Leadership Committee for the planned City Museum of Washington, D.C., wrote in the Washington Post that the museum would remind visitors about how Banneker had brought his mathematical expertise to complete L'Enfant's project to map the city.[70] A letter to the editor of the Post entitled District History Lesson then responded to this statement by noting that Andrew Ellicott was the person who revised L'Enfant's plan and who completed the capital city's mapping, and that Banneker had played no part in this.[71]
Appointment to planning commission for Washington, D.C.
Henry E. Baker
In 1918, Henry E. Baker, an African American serving as an assistant examiner in the United States Patent Office, wrote a biography of Banneker in The Journal of Negro History (now titled The Journal of African American History), which Carter Woodson edited. Baker's biography stated: "It is on record that it was on the suggestion of his friend, Major Andrew Ellicott, ...., that Thomas Jefferson nominated Banneker and Washington appointed him a member of the commission" whose duties were to "define the boundary line and lay out the streets of the Federal Territory, later called the District of Columbia".[72] However, Baker did not identify the record on which he based this statement. Baker additionally stated that Andrew Ellicott and L'Enfant were also members of this commission.[72]
In 1947, John Hope Franklin wrote in the first edition of his book From Slavery to Freedom: A History of American Negroes that the "most distinguished honor that Banneker received was his appointment to serve with the commission to define the boundary line and lay out the streets of the District of Columbia." Franklin also stated that Banneker's "friend", George Ellicott (Andrew Ellicott's cousin), was a member of the commission.[73]
In 1966, a book that Franklin co-authored made a similar statement, claiming that L'Enfant, Banneker and George Ellicott were the survey's commissioners.[74] Bedini subsequently wrote in a 1972 biography of Banneker that the claim was incorrect.[75]
Nevertheless, Franklin repeated in a 2000 edition of his book (whose title had become From Slavery to Freedom: A History of African Americans) the statements that he had made in the book's first edition. The 2000 edition also stated that Thomas Jefferson had submitted Banneker's name to President Washington. The edition cited Baker's 1918 biography as the source of this information.[76]
Franklin's books did not cite any documentation to support their contention that George Ellicott participated in the planning and design of the nation's capital. Andrew (not George) Ellicott led the survey that defined the District's boundary lines and, with L'Enfant, laid out the capital city's streets. There is no historical evidence that shows that President Washington participated in the process that resulted in Banneker's appointment as an assistant to Andrew Ellicott on the District boundary survey team.[77]
In 2005, actor James Avery narrated a DVD entitled A History of Black Achievement in America. A quiz based on a section of the DVD entitled "Emergence of the Black Hero" asked:
Benjamin Banneker was a member of the planning commission for ____________ .
a. New York City
b. Philadelphia
c. Washington, D.C.
d. Atlanta[78]
Historical evidence contradicts the statements that Baker and Franklin made and suggests that the question in the quiz has no correct answer. In 1791, President Washington appointed Thomas Johnson, Daniel Carroll and David Stuart to be the three commissioners who, in accordance with the authority that the federal Residence Act of 1790 had granted to the President, would oversee the survey of the federal district, and "according to such Plans, as the President shall approve", provide public buildings to accommodate the federal government in 1800.[79][80][81]
The Residence Act did not authorize the President to appoint any more than three commissioners that could serve at the same time.[82] As Banneker, Andrew Ellicott, and L'Enfant performed their tasks during the time that Johnson, Carroll and Stuart were serving as commissioners, President Washington could not have legally appointed either Banneker, Ellicott or L'Enfant to serve as members of the "commission" that Baker and Franklin described.
In 1972 and 1999, Bedini reported that an exhaustive survey of U.S. government repositories, including the Public Buildings and Grounds files in the National Archives and collections in the Library of Congress, had failed to identify Banneker's name on any contemporary documents or records relating to the selection, planning and survey of the City of Washington. Bedini also noted that none of L'Enfant's survey papers that he had found had contained Banneker's name.[40][83] Another researcher has been unable to find any documentation that shows that Washington and Banneker ever met.[84]
Boundary markers of the District of Columbia
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During 1791 and 1792, a survey team that Andrew Ellicott led placed forty mile marker stones along the 10 miles (16.1 km)-long sides of a square that would form the boundaries of the future District of Columbia. Ellicott's survey began at the square's south corner at Jones Point in Alexandria, Virginia (see Boundary markers of the original District of Columbia).[6][85] Several accounts of the marker stones incorrectly attribute their placement to Banneker.
In 1994, historians preparing a National Register of Historic Places registration form for the L'Enfant plan of the City of Washington wrote that forty boundary stones laid at one-mile intervals had established the District's boundaries based on Banneker's celestial calculations.[86] In 2005, a data gathering report for the planned Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) in Washington, D.C., stated that Banneker had assisted Andrew Ellicott in laying out the forty boundary marker stones.[87] Both the 2005 data gathering report and a 2007 historic preservation report for the NMAAHC repeated the statement that the boundary stones' locations had been based on Banneker's "celestial calculations".[88]
In 2012, Penny Carr, a regent of the Falls Church, Virginia, chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) wrote in an online community newspaper that Andrew Ellicott and Banneker had in 1791 put in place the westernmost boundary marker stone of the original D.C. boundary. Carr stated that the marker now sits on the boundary line of Falls Church City, Fairfax County, and Arlington County.[89] Carr did not provide the source of this information.
A book published in May 2014 entitled "A History Lover's Guide to Washington" stated that both Ellicott and Banneker had "carefully placed the forty original boundary stones along the Washington, D.C. borders with Virginia and Maryland in 1791-1792".[90] Similarly, on May 8, 2015, a Washington Post article describing a rededication ceremony for one of the marker stones reported that Sharon K. Thorne-Sulima, a regent of a chapter of the District of Columbia DAR, had said:
These stones are our nation's oldest national landmarks that were placed by Andrew Ellicott and Benjamin Banneker. They officially laid the seat of government of our new nation.[91]
On May 30, 2015, a web version of a follow-up article in the Post carried the headline "Stones laid by Benjamin Banneker in the 1790s are still standing".[92] Disputing the headline's information, a June 1, 2015, comment following the article stated while citing an extensively referenced source[93] that Banneker had, "according to legend", made the astronomical observations and calculations needed to establish the location of the south corner of the District's square, but had not participated in any later parts of the square's survey.[94]
One of the references in the source that the comment in the Post cited was a 1969 publication that Silvio Bedini had authored. In that publication, Bedini stated that Banneker apparently left the federal capital area and returned to his home at Ellicott's Mills in late April 1791, shortly after the south cornerstone (the first boundary marker stone) was set in place during an April 15, 1791, ceremony.[95] In 1794, a permanent south cornerstone reportedly replaced the stone that was set in place during the 1791 ceremony.[96]
Citing a statement that Bedini had made in a biography of Banneker published in 1972,[97] historian Julian P. Boyd pointed out in a 1974 publication that there was no evidence that Banneker had anything to do with the survey of the Federal City or with the final establishment of the boundaries of the Federal District.[13] Nevertheless, in 2016, Charlie Clark, a columnist writing in a Falls Church newspaper, stated that Banneker had placed a District boundary stone in Clark's Arlington County, Virginia, neighborhood.[98]
_South_Cornerstone_close-up.jpg)
A 2016 booklet that the government of Arlington County, Virginia, published to promote the County's African American history stated, "On April 15, 1791, officials dedicated the first boundary stone based on Banneker's calculations."[99] However, it was actually a March 30, 1791, presidential proclamation by George Washington that established "Jones's point, the upper cape of Hunting Creek in Virginia" as the starting point for the federal district's boundary survey.[100]
Washington did not need any calculations to determine the location of Jones Point. Further, according to an April 21, 1791, news report of the dedication ceremony for the first boundary stone (the south cornerstone), it was Andrew Ellicott who ″ascertained the precise point from which the first line of the district was to proceed". The news report did not mention Banneker's name.[101]
A National Park Service web page entitled Benjamin Banneker and the Boundary Stones of the District of Columbia stated in 2017:
Along with a team, Banneker identified the boundaries of the capitol city. They installed intermittent stone markers along the perimeter of the District.[39]
The Park Service did not provide a source for this statement.
Banneker's clock
In 1845, John Hazelhurst Boneval Latrobe, an American lawyer, inventor and future president of the American Colonization Society,[102] read a Memoir of Benjamin Banneker at a meeting of the Maryland Historical Society.[103] Latrobe's memoir, presented 39 years after Banneker's death, contains the first known account of Banneker's clock. The memoir stated:
It was at this time, when he (Banneker) was about thirty years of age, that he contrived and made a clock, which proved an excellent time–piece. He had seen a watch, but not a clock, such an article having not yet having found its way into the quiet and secluded valley in which he lived. The watch was therefore his model.[104]
In 1863, the Atlantic Monthly magazine published during the American Civil War a brief biography of Banneker that an American abolitionist minister, Moncure D. Conway, had written.[105] Embellishing Latrobe's account of Banneker's clock, Conway described the timepiece as follows:
Perhaps the first wonder amongst his comparatively illiterate neighbors was excited, when about the thirtieth year of his age, Benjamin made a clock. It is probable that this was the first clock of which every portion was made in America; it is certain that it was as purely as his own invention as if none had ever been made before. He had seen a watch, but never a clock, such an article not being within fifty miles of him. The watch was his model.[106]
Conway's biography concluded by stating "... history must record that the most original scientific intellect which the South has yet produced was that of the pure African, Benjamin Banneker."[107]
Lydia Maria Child (circa 1865)
In 1865, an American abolitionist, Lydia Maria Child, authored a book intended to be used to teach recently freed African Americans to read and to provide them with inspiration.[108] Child's book stated that Banneker had constructed "the first clock ever made in this country".[109]
Kelly Miller
In 1902, Kelly Miller, a professor of mathematics at Howard University, made a similar undocumented claim in a United States Bureau of Education publication. Miller, who later became a professor of sociology and dean of the school's College of Arts and Sciences,[110] stated in his paper that Banneker had in 1770 "constructed a clock to strike the hours, the first to be made in America".[111] In contrast, Philip Lee Phillips, a Library of Congress librarian,[112] more cautiously stated in a 1916 paper read before the Columbia Historical Society in Washington, D.C. that Banneker "is said to have made, entirely with his own hand, a clock of which it is said every portion was made in America."[113]
In 1919, Carter Woodson wrote in the second edition of his book, The Education of the Negro Prior to 1861, that Banneker had "made in 1770 the first clock manufactured in the United States, thereby attracting the attention of the scientific world".[114] In 1921, Benjamin Griffith Brawley, who had earlier worked at Howard University and had served as the first dean of Morehouse College,[115] authored a book entitled A Social History of the American Negro. Repeating Kelly Miller's claim, Brawley's book stated that Banneker had in 1770 "constructed the first clock striking the hours that was made in America."[116]
In 1929, The Chicago Defender newspaper reported that a speaker at a ceremony dedicating a sundial commemorating Banneker at Howard University had stated that "Banneker made the first clock used in America which was constructed of all American materials".[117] In 1967, William Loren Katz repeated this statement in his book, Eyewitness: The Negro in American History, claiming that Banneker as a teenager "constructed a clock, the first one made entirely with American parts".[118]
Shirley Graham wrote in her 1949 book, Your Most Humble Servant, that stories saying that Banneker made the first clock constructed in America are "no doubt carelessly written". She went on to write that it was probably quite safe to say that "Banneker made the first clock in Maryland" or perhaps in the southern Atlantic colonies. Without citing any supporting documents written during Banneker's lifetime, she then claimed that "this at least is what was said about him in his own day".[119]
In 1968, a writer for the magazine Negro Digest stated that, at the age of 21, Banneker "perfected the first clock in Maryland, possibly in America".[120] A 1970 book authored by Otto Lindenmeyer and entitled Black History: Lost, Stolen, or Strayed stated that Banneker had constructed his clock's frame and movements "entirely of wood, the first such instrument made in America".[121]
In a book entitled Black Pioneers of Science and Invention that was also published in 1970, Louis Haber wrote that Banneker had by 1753 completed "the first clock ever built in the United States", that the device kept perfect time for more than 40 years, and that "People came from all over the country to see his clock."[122] The preface to his book reported that his work had resulted in part from a United States Office of Education grant to "gather resource materials that could then be incorporated into science curricula at elementary and secondary schools as well as at the college level".[123]
In 1976, an Afro-American Bicentennial Corporation historian prepared a National Register of Historic Places nomination form for a District of Columbia boundary marker stone whose proposed name would commemorate Banneker. The form's "Statement of Significance" claimed that Banneker was an inventor whose "ability as a mathematician enabled him to construct what is believed to have been the first working wooden clock in America".[124] In 1978, the Baltimore Afro-American reported that Banneker was the "inventor of the first clock".[125]
In 1980, the United States Postal Service (USPS) issued a postage stamp that commemorated Banneker. The USPS' description of Banneker stated: "... In 1753, he built the first watch made in America."[126]
A 2004 USPS pamphlet illustrating the stamp stated that Banneker "constructed the first wooden striking clock made in America",[127] a statement which also appeared on a web page of the Smithsonian Institution's National Postal Museum entitled "Early Pioneers".[128] The website of the Banneker-Douglass Museum, the State of Maryland's official museum of African American heritage, similarly claimed in 2015 that Banneker crafted "the first wooden striking clock in America".[129]
In 1987, Oregon's Portland Public Schools District published a series of educational materials entitled African-American Baseline Essays. The Essays were to be "used by teachers and other District staff as a reference and resource just as adopted textbooks and other resources are used" as part of "a huge multicultural curriculum-development effort."[130] An Essay entitled African-American Contributions to Science and Technology stated that Banneker had "made America's first clock".[131]
In 1994, Erich Martel, who had earlier authored a 1991 paper describing the Essays' deficiencies,[132] wrote an article for the Washington Post that cited the Essays' "crippling flaws" while noting that the Essays "are the most widespread Afrocentric teaching material".[133] The specified flaws included several Banneker stories that Silvio Bedini had refuted more than a decade before the Essays appeared.[133]
In his 1998 book, A Country of Strangers: Blacks and Whites in America, David Shipler wrote in a section entitled "Myths of America" that the Essays had "been attacked for gross inaccuracy in an entire literature of detailed criticism by respected historians". Shipler noted that the science section of the Essays had embellished Banneker's accomplishments in several ways, one of which was the demonstrably false claim that Banneker's clock was America's first such instrument.[2]
Nevertheless, Benjamin Banneker: Invented America's First Clock became the title of a 2008 web page.[134] In 2014, a revised edition of a 1994 book entitled African-American Firsts repeated a statement made in the initial edition that claimed that Banneker had "designed and built the first clock in the colonies".[135]
In 1999, the author of an article entitled A Salute to African American Inventors that a Fort Smith, Arkansas, newspaper published wrote that in 1753, Banneker "built one of the first watches made in America, a wooden pocket watch".[136] The article did not provide a source for this statement. A 2020 update of an on-line biography of Banneker contained an identical statement while also not citing the statement's source.[137] The author of 2013 book entitled Famous Americans: A Directory of Museums, Historic Sites, and Memorials wrote that Banneker "became known for such accomplishments as building one of the first watches in America".[138]
When supporting the establishment of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of African American History and Culture, a 2004 report to the President of the United States and the United States Congress stated that Banneker was an African American inventor.[35] In 2015, columnists Al Kamen and Colby Itkowitz repeated that statement in a Washington Post article.[139] A 2017 National Park Service web page, which also claimed that Banneker was an inventor, stated that Banneker had "constructed one of the first entirely wooden clocks in America."[39]
However, while several 19th, 20th and 21st century biographers have written that Banneker constructed a clock, none cited documents that showed that Banneker had not seen or read about clocks before he constructed his own. None showed that Banneker's clock had any characteristics that earlier American clocks had lacked.[113][140]
In 1972, Silvio Bedini reported that a number of watch and clockmakers were already established in Maryland before Banneker completed his clock in 1753. Prior to 1750, at least four such craftsmen were working in Annapolis, 25 miles (40 km) from Banneker's home.[141] The only accounts of Banneker's clock by people who had observed it reported only that it was made of wood, that it was suspended in a corner of his log cabin, that it had struck the hour and that Banneker had said that its only model was a borrowed watch.[142]
Bedini stated that "Banneker's clock continued to operate until his death".[143] However, a later author more cautiously wrote that the clock "was apparently used" until a fire destroyed Banneker's home during his funeral.[144] The first known report of the fire, published in 1854 from notes taken in 1836, stated that flames had consumed the clock, but provided no supporting documentation or any information as to whether the clock was still operational at the time.[145]
(2017)
Documents describing the history of clockmaking in America show that Banneker's clock was not the first of its kind made in America (see: History of timekeeping devices). Clockmakers came to the American colonies from England and Holland during the early 1600s. Among the earliest known clockmakers in the colonies were Thomas Nash of New Haven, Connecticut (1638),[146] William Davis of Boston (1683), Edvardus Bogardus of New York City (1698) and James Batterson of Boston (1707).[147]
Connecticut clockmakers were crafting striking clocks throughout the 1600s, before Banneker was born.[146] The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City holds in its collections a tall-case striking clock that Benjamin Bagnall, Sr., constructed in Boston before 1740 (when Banneker was 9 years old) and that Elisha Williams probably acquired between 1725 and 1739 while he was rector of Yale College.[148] The Dallas Museum of Art holds in its collections a similar striking clock made entirely of American parts that Bagnall constructed in Boston between 1730 and 1745.[149]
During the 1600s, when metal was harder to come by in the colonies than wood, works for many American clocks were made of wood, including the gears, which were whittled and fashioned by hand, as were all other parts.[150] There is some evidence that wooden clocks were being made as early as 1715 near New Haven, Connecticut.[146][151] Benjamin Cheney of East Hartford, Connecticut, was producing wooden striking clocks by 1745,[146][151][152] eight years before Banneker completed his own wooden striking clock in 1753. David Rittenhouse constructed a clock with wooden gears around 1749 while living on a farm near Philadelphia at the age of 17.[153]
Banneker's almanacs
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In addition to incorrectly describing Banneker's clock, Lydia Maria Child's 1865 book stated that Banneker's almanac was the first ever made in America.[154] After also incorrectly describing the clock, Kelly Miller's 1902 publication similarly stated that Banneker's 1792 almanac for Pennsylvania, Virginia and Maryland was "the first almanac constructed in America".[111] Carter Woodson made a similar statement in his 1919 book, The Education of the Negro Pior to 1861.[155]
A National Register of Historic Places nomination form for the ″Benjamin Banneker: SW-9 Intermediate Boundary Stone (milestone) of the District of Columbia" that an Afro-American Bicentennial Corporation historian prepared in 1976 states that Banneker's astronomical calculations "led to his writing one of the first series of almanacs printed in the United States."[156] A National Park Service web page repeated that statement in 2017.[39]
However, William Pierce's 1639 An Almanac Calculated for New England, which was the first in an annual series of almanacs that Stephen Daye, or Day, printed until 1649 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, preceded Banneker's birth by nearly a century.[157] Nathaniel Ames issued his popular Astronomical Diary and Almanack in Massachusetts in 1725 and annually after c.1732.[158] James Franklin published The Rhode Island Almanack by "Poor Robin" for each year from 1728 to 1735.[159] James' brother, Benjamin Franklin, published his annual Poor Richard's Almanack in Philadelphia from 1732 to 1758, more than thirty years before Banneker wrote his own first almanac in 1791.[160]
Samuel Stearns issued the North-American Almanack, published annually from 1771 to 1784, as well as the first American nautical almanac, The Navigator's Kalendar, or Nautical Almanack, for 1783.[161] A decade before printers published Banneker's first almanac, Andrew Ellicott began to author a series of almanacs, The United States Almanack, the earliest known copy of which bears the date of 1782.[162]
In 1907, the Library of Congress compiled a Preliminary Check List of American Almanacs: 1639-1800, which identified a large number of almanacs that had been printed in the thirteen colonies and the United States prior to 1792.[163] The printers had published many of these almanacs during more than one year.
The Check List showed that 18 of the almanacs had been printed in Maryland, including Ellicott's Maryland and Virginia Almanack for 1787 and 1789 and Ellicott's Maryland and Virginia almanac and ephemeris for 1791, each of which John Hayes of Baltimore had printed.[164] William Goddard of Baltimore, who later printed Banneker's 1792 almanac, had printed The Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia almanack and ephemeris for each year from 1784 to 1790, except 1786.[164]
Plan of a Peace-Office
A Philadelphia edition of Banneker's 1793 almanac contained an anonymous essay entitled "A Plan of a Peace-Office, for the United States".[165] In 1916, Phillip Lee Phillips, who was the first Superintendent of Maps for the Library of Congress,[166] wrote a paper about the almanac that was presented to the Columbia Historical Society in Washington, D.C. Phillips' paper, which stated that the almanac contained Banneker's plea for peace, also contained a complete copy of the essay.[167]
A report of the presentation that the Washington Star published soon afterwards stated that, in the course of the paper, "it was brought out that Banneker, who was a free Negro, friend of Washington and Jefferson, published a series of almanacs, unique in that they were his own work throughout."[168] A number of books, journals, newspapers and student teaching aids then credited Banneker with the authorship of the peace plan during the more than 100 years that passed after Phillips' paper and the Star's report were published.[169][170]
However, in 1798, a Philadelphia printer had earlier published a collection of essays that Dr. Benjamim Rush, a signer of the 1776 Declaration of Independence, had written.[171] Rush's preface to the publication, dated January 9, 1798, stated that most of the essays had been published soon after the end of the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783).[172]
One of Rush's essays, entitled A plan of a Peace-Office for the United States was similar, but not identical, to the essay with the same name in Banneker's 1793 almanac.[173] Several historians have therefore attributed to Dr. Rush the authorship of the almanac's peace plan.
Henry Cadbury, a historian serving as a professor of divinity at Harvard University from 1934 to 1954,[174] discovered within Rush's papers a copy of the peace plan that bore a date that was earlier than the publication of Banneker's 1793 almanac.[175][176] In 1946, Dagobert D. Runes published a collection of Rush's papers that contained the 1798 peace plan, but which Runes dated as 1799.[175][177]
After Runes' collection was published, Carter Woodson, who had in his 1933 book, The Mis-education of the Negro, credited Banneker with being the author of the peace plan,[169] noted that the copy of the plan in Banneker's almanac contained Rush's initials ("BR"). Woodson concluded that Phillips had been misled because the initials were not clear. Woodson further concluded that Banneker could not be regarded as the author of the plan.[175]
However, Shirley Graham's 1949 book, Your Most Humble Servant, presented a contrasting view. Graham noted that the editors of Banneker's almanac had placed the peace plan in their work. Stating that Runes' collection contained the first printing of Dr. Rush's peace plan, Graham claimed that Rush had revised the almanac's plan because it was "too fanciful".[178]
Graham stated in the book's section on sources that the peace plan in a photographed copy of Banneker's 1793 almanac did not contain any initials.[179] However, consistent with Woodson's account, two digitized copies of a Philadelphia edition of that almanac show beneath the last page of the peace plan the letter "B", but do not show any other letters.[180]
In a typed draft of an unpublished article that he wrote around 1950, historian and civil rights activist W.E.B. Dubois concurred with Graham, whom he later married. His article stated that Graham's book indicated the facts and that "Banneker first published the plan and without much doubt was its author". The article concluded that "The credit of this remarkable suggestion should go to Benjamin Banneker".[181]
In 1969, Maxwell Whiteman authored a book that contained a reproduction of the almanac. Whiteman wrote in the book's introduction that the librarian of the Library Company of Philadelphia, from whose institution the copy had been made, had stated that Dr. Rush had authored the peace plan that the almanac contained.[182] Silvio Bedini wrote in his 1972 biography of Banneker that Runes' 1947 collection of Rush's writings had "identified beyond question" that Rush had authored the almanac's peace plan.[183]
Astronomical works
In 2019, a Harvard University website describing a program that the "Banneker Institute" conducted at the school each summer claimed about Banneker: "As a forefather to Black American contributions to science, his eminence has earned him the distinction of being the first professional astronomer in America."[184] The website, which noted that the program "prepares undergraduate students of color for graduate programs in astronomy by emphasizing research, building community, and encouraging debate and political action through social justice education",[185] did not cite the source of this questionable information.
Banneker prepared his first published almanac in 1791, during the same year that he participated in the federal district boundary survey.[186][187] As a 1942 journal article entitled Early American Astronomy has reported, American almanacs published as early as 1687 predicted eclipses and other astronomical events. In contrast to the statement in the Banneker Institute's posting, that article and others that have reported the works of 17th and 18th century American astronomers either do not mention Banneker's name or describe his works as occurring after those of other Americans.[188][189]
Colonial Americans John Winthrop (a Harvard College professor) and David Rittenhouse authored publications that described their telescopic observations of the 1761 and 1769 transits of Venus soon after those events occurred.[188][190] Other Americans, some of whom taught at Harvard, also wrote about astronomy and used telescopes when observing celestial bodies and events before 1790 (see also: Colonial American Astronomy).[188]
A book relating the history of American astronomy stated, that as a result of the American Revolution, "... what astronomical activity there was from 1776 through 1830 was sporadic and inconsequential".[191] Another such book has stated that "the dawn of American professional astronomy" began in the middle of the 19th century.[192] In 1839, the Harvard Corporation voted to appoint clockmaker William Cranch Bond, whom some consider to be the "father of American astronomy", as "Astronomical Observer to the University".[192][193]
Seventeen-year cicada
(June 2004)
In 2004, during a year in which Brood X of the seventeen-year periodical cicada (Magicicada septendecim or seventeen-year locust) emerged from the ground in large numbers, columnist Courtland Milloy wrote in The Washington Post an article entitled Time to Create Some Buzz for Banneker.[194] Milloy claimed that Banneker "is believed to have been the first person to document this noisy recurrence" of the insect. Milloy stated that Banneker had recorded in a journal "published around 1800" that the "locusts" had appeared in 1749, 1766 and 1783.
Milloy further noted that Banneker had predicted that the insects would return in 1800.[195] In 2014, the authors of an online publication that reproduced Banneker's handwritten journal report cited Milloy's article and contended that "Banneker was one of the first naturalists to record scientific information and observations of the seventeen-year cicada".[196]
However, earlier published accounts of the periodical cicada's life cycle describe the history of cicada sightings differently. These accounts cite descriptions of fifteen- to seventeen-year recurrences of enormous numbers of noisy emergent cicadas that people had written as early as 1733,[197][198] when Banneker was two years old.
Pehr Kalm, a Swedish naturalist visiting Pennsylvania and New Jersey in 1749 on behalf of his nation's government, observed in late May the first of the three Brood X emergences that Banneker's journal later documented.[197][199] When reporting the event in a paper that a Swedish academic journal published in 1756, Kalm wrote:
The general opinion is that these insects appear in these fantastic numbers in every seventeenth year. Meanwhile, except for an occasional one which may appear in the summer, they remain underground.
There is considerable evidence that these insects appear every seventeenth year in Pennsylvania.[199]
Kalm then described documents (including one that he had obtained from Benjamin Franklin) that had recorded in Pennsylvania the emergence from the ground of large numbers of cicadas during May 1715 and May 1732. He noted that the people who had prepared these documents had made no such reports in other years.[199] Kalm further noted that others had informed him that they had seen cicadas only occasionally before the insects appeared in large swarms during 1749.[199] He additionally stated that he had not heard any cicadas in Pennsylvania and New Jersey in 1750 in the same months and areas in which he had heard many in 1749.[199] The 1715 and 1732 reports, when coupled with his own 1749 and 1750 observations, supported the previous "general opinion" that he had cited.
Kalm summarized his findings in a paper translated into English in 1771,[200] stating:
There are a kind of Locusts which about every seventeen years come hither in incredible numbers .... In the interval between the years when they are so numerous, they are only seen or heard single in the woods.[197][201]
In 1758, Carl Linnaeus gave to the insect that Kalm had described the Latin name of Cicada septendecim (seventeen-year cicada) in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae.[202] Banneker's second observation of a Brood X emergence occurred eight years later. A writer documented that emergence in a 1766 journal article entitled Observations on the cicada, or locust of America, which appears periodically once in 16 or 17 years.[203]
Other legends and embellishments
In her 1865 work, The Freedmen's Book, Lydia Maria Child stated that Thomas Jefferson had in 1803 invited Banneker to visit him in Monticello, a claim that Carter Woodson repeated in his 1919 book,The Education of the Negro Prior to 1861.[204] Silvio Bedini later reported that Child had not substantiated this claim.[205]
Bedini noted that a writer had repeated this statement in 1876 within a Scottish book entitled Amongst the Darkies [206] and that another writer had in 1916 not only repeated the claim but had also stated that Jefferson invited Banneker to dine with him at the Executive Mansion (the White House).[207] Bedini further noted that these legends contain dates that are inconsistent with those that are known[208] and that no evidence of any such invitations has been found.[209]
In 1930, writer Lloyd Morris claimed in an academic journal article entitled The Negro "Renaissance" that "Benjamin Banneker attracted the attention of a President.... President Thomas Jefferson sent a copy of one of Banneker's almanacs to his friend, the French philosopher Condorcet....".[210] However, Thomas Jefferson sent Banneker's almanac to the Marquis de Condorcet in 1791, a decade before he became President in 1801.[211][212]
Charles Alston (1939)
In 1943, an African American artist, Charles Alston, who was at the time an employee of the United States Office of War Information, designed a cartoon that embellished the statements that Henry E. Baker had made in 1918.[72] Like Baker, Alston incorrectly claimed that Banneker "was placed on the commission which surveyed and laid out the city of Washington, D.C." Alston extended this claim by also stating that Banneker had been a "city planner". Alston's cartoon additionally repeated a claim that Lydia Maria Child had made in 1865[109] by stating that Banneker had "constructed the first clock made in America".[213]
In 1976, the singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder celebrated Banneker's mythical feats in his song "Black Man", from the album Songs in the Key of Life. The lyrics of the song state:
Who was the man who helped design the nation's capitol,
Made the first clock to give time in America and wrote the first almanac?
Benjamin Banneker, a black man[214]
The question's answer is incorrect. Banneker did not help design either the United States Capitol or the nation's capital city and did not write America's first almanac.[43] The first known clockmaker of record in America was Thomas Nash, an early settler of New Haven, Connecticut, in 1638.[146]
In 1998, a Catalan writer, Núria Perpinyà, created a fictional character, Aleph Banneker, in her novel Un bon error (A Good Mistake). The writer's website reported that the character, an "eminent scientist", was meant to recall Benjamin Banneker, an eighteenth-century "black astronomer and urbanist".[215] However, none of Banneker's documented activities or writings suggest that he was an "urbanist".[216]
In 1999, the National Capital Memorial Commission concluded that the relationship between Banneker and L'Enfant was such that L'Enfant Promenade was the most logical place in Washington, DC on which to construct a proposed memorial to Banneker.[217] However, Silvio Bedini was not able find any historical evidence that showed that Banneker had any relationship at all to L'Enfant or to L'Enfant's plan for the city, although he wrote that the two men had "undoubtedly" met each other after L'Enfant arrived in Georgetown in March 1791 to begin his work.[218][219] A 2016 National Park Service (NPS) publication later stated that the NPS had renamed an overlook at the southern end of the Promenade to commemorate Banneker even though the area had no specific connection to Banneker himself.[220]
A history painting by Peter Waddell entitled A Vision Unfolds debuted in 2005 within an exhibition on Freemasonry that the Octagon House's museum in Washington, D.C., was hosting. The oil painting was again displayed in 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2011, first in the Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha, Nebraska and later in the National Heritage Museum in Lexington, Massachusetts and in the Scottish Rite Center of the District of Columbia in Washington, D.C.[221] Waddell's painting contains elements present in Edward Savage's 1789-1796 painting The Washington Family, which portrays President George Washington and his wife Martha viewing a plan of the City of Washington.[222]
A Vision Unfolds depicts a meeting that is taking place within an elaborate surveying tent. In the imaginary scene, Banneker presents a map of the federal district (the Territory of Columbia) to President Washington and Andrew Ellicott.[221][223]
However, Andrew Ellicott completed his survey of the federal district's boundaries in 1792.[10][6] On January 1, 1793, Ellicott submitted to the three commissioners "a report of his first map of the four lines of experiment, showing a half mile on each side, including the district of territory, with a survey of the different waters within the territory".[224]
The Library of Congress has attributed to 1793 the year of Ellicott's earliest map of the Territory of Columbia that the Library holds within its collections.[223] As Banneker left the federal capital area in 1791,[13][225][44] Banneker could not have had any association with the map that Waddell depicted.
Further, writers have pointed out that there is no evidence that Banneker had anything to do with the final establishment of the federal district's boundaries.[13] Additionally, a researcher has been unable to find any documentation that shows that President Washington and Banneker ever met.[84]
A 2017 article on the Smithsonian Magazine's website entitled Three Things to Know About Benjamin Banneker’s Pioneering Career stated that the first two of these three things were "He built America’s first home-grown clock–out of wood" and "He produced one of the United States’ first almanacs."[226] However, a wooden clock that David Rittenhouse constructed around 1749[153] was among those made at home in the thirteen American colonies before Banneker built his own around 1753.[143] A report that the Library of Congress published in 1907 identified many almanacs that printers had distributed in the thirteen colonies and the United States between William Pierce's 1639 Cambridge, Massachusetts, publication and Banneker's first (Baltimore, Maryland, 1792).[227]
In 2018, an NPS web page stated that "Banneker became one of the first black civil servants of the new nation" when "he surveyed the city of Washington".[39] However, Bedini had reported more than 40 years earlier that it was Andrew Ellicott (not the federal government) who hired Banneker to participate in the survey of the federal district.[10] Ellicott paid Banneker $60 for his participation, including travel expenses.[228]
A 2019 article on the White House Historical Association's website entitled Benjamin Banneker: The Black Tobacco Farmer Who The Presidents Couldn't Ignore stated that President Washington was aware of Banneker’s participation in the federal city's boundary survey. However, the article neither cited a source for this claim nor referenced a contemporary document that supported the statement.[229]
The article's reference list cited a 2002 book whose author had claimed that "President Washington must have been thunderstruck by finding an African-American on the (survey) team"[230] and that "there is evidence" that a newspaper reporter "asked the President about Banneker on one of his visits to the survey site".[231] However, a reviewer of that book stated that such statements lacked direct documentation and ended the review by stating that the author's "documentation is sloppy".[232]
Commemorative U.S. quarter dollar coin nomination
In 2008, the District of Columbia government considered selecting an image of Banneker for the reverse side of the District of Columbia quarter in the 2009 District of Columbia and United States Territories quarters program.[233] The original narrative supporting this selection[234] (subsequently revised)[235] alleged that Banneker was an inventor, "was hired as part of an official six-man team to help survey and design the new capital city of the fledgling nation, making Benjamin Banneker among the first-ever African-American presidential appointees" and that Banneker was "a founder of Washington D.C." When describing the finalists for the image, the Fiscal Year 2008 annual report of the Secretariat of the District of Columbia stated that Banneker "helped Pierre L’Enfant create the plan for the capital city".[236]
After the District chose to commemorate another person on the coin, the District's mayor, Adrian M. Fenty, sent a letter to the Director of the United States Mint, Edmund C. Moy, that claimed that Banneker "played an integral role in the physical design of the nation's capital."[237] However, there are no known documents that show that any president ever appointed Banneker to any position or that Banneker ever invented anything. Further, a writer had stated in 1974 that Banneker had played no role at all in the design, development or founding of the nation's capital beyond his brief participation in the two-year survey of the federal district's boundaries.[13]
Historical markers
Several historical markers in Maryland and Washington, D.C., contain information relating to Benjamin Banneker that is unsupported by historical evidence or is contradicted by such evidence:
Historical marker in Benjamin Banneker Historical Park, Baltimore County, Maryland
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A commemorative historical marker that the Maryland Historical Society erected on the present grounds of Benjamin Banneker Historical Park in Baltimore County, Maryland, states that Banneker "published the first Maryland almanac" in 1792.[238] Silvio Bedini reported in 1999 that the marker's statement is incorrect.[239]
Bedini stated that Banneker may have modeled the format of his almanac after a series of Maryland almanacs that Andrew Ellicott had authored from 1781 to 1787.[240] An Annapolis printer published for the year of 1730 the first of many known almanacs whose titles contained the name of Maryland and had appeared before Banneker's 1792 almanac did.[241]
Further, Banneker did not "publish" his 1792 almanac. Although he authored this work, others printed, distributed and sold it.[186]
Historical marker in Benjamin Banneker Park, Washington, DC
A historical marker that the National Park Service erected in Benjamin Banneker Park in Washington, D.C., in 1997[242][a 2] states in an unreferenced paragraph:
Banneker became intrigued by a pocket watch he had seen as a young man. Using a knife he intricately carved out the wheels and gears of a wooden timepiece. The remarkable clock he constructed from memory kept time and struck the hours for the next fifty years.[243]
However, Banneker reportedly completed his clock in 1753 at the age of 21, when he was still a young man.[244] No historical evidence shows that he constructed the clock from memory.[245]
Further, it is open to question as to whether the clock was actually "remarkable". Silvio Bedini reported that at least four clockmakers were working in Annapolis, Maryland, before 1753, when Banneker completed his own clock.[141]
A photograph on the historical marker illustrates a wooden striking clock that Benjamin Cheney constructed around 1760.[243][246] The marker does not indicate that the clock is not Banneker's.[243] A fire on the day of Banneker's funeral reportedly destroyed his own clock.[144][145]
Historical marker in Newseum, Washington, DC
In 2008, when the Newseum opened to the public on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C., visitors looking over the Avenue could read a historical marker that stated:
Benjamin Banneker assisted Chief Surveyor Andrew Ellicott in laying out the Avenue based on Pierre L'Enfant's Plan. President George Washington appointed Ellicott and Banneker to survey the boundaries of the new city.[247]
Little or none of this appears to be correct. Banneker had no documented involvement with the laying out of Pennsylvania Avenue or with L'Enfant's Plan.[13][225][43] Andrew Ellicott surveyed the boundaries of the federal district (not the "boundaries of the new city") at the suggestion of Thomas Jefferson.[80] Ellicott (not Washington) appointed Banneker to assist in the boundary survey.[10][77]
List and map of coordinates
- Coordinates of inscription of L'Enfant's name in Freedom Plaza: 38°53′45″N 77°01′53″W
- Coordinates of National Park Service's historical marker in Benjamin Banneker Park, Washington, D.C.: 38°52′55″N 77°01′34″W
See also
List of common misconceptions: a list of many common misconceptions, including some about Benjamin Banneker.
Notes
- (1) Whiteman, Maxwell. Whiteman, Maxwell (ed.). BENJAMIN BANNEKER: Surveyor and Astronomer: 1731-1806: A biographical note. Banneker's Almanack and Ephemeris for the Year of Our Lord 1793; being The First After Bisixtile or Leap Year and Banneker's almanac, for the year 1795: Being the Third After Leap Year: Afro-American History Series: Rhistoric Publication No. 202 (1969 Reprint Edition). Rhistoric Publications, a division of Microsurance Inc. LCCN 72077039. OCLC 907004619. Retrieved June 14, 2017 – via HathiTrust Digital Library.
A number of fictional accounts of Banneker are available. All of them were dependent upon the following: Proceedings of the Maryland Historical Society for 1837 and 1854 which respectively contain the accounts of Banneker by John B. H. Latrobe and Martha E. Tyson. They were subsequently reprinted as pamphlets.
(2) Boyd, Julian P., ed. (1974). Locating the Federal District: Editorial Note: Footnote number 119. The Papers of Thomas Jefferson: 24 January–31 March 1791. 19. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. pp. 41–43. ISBN 9780691185255. LCCN 50007486. OCLC 1045069058. Retrieved March 27, 2019 – via Google Books.
Recent biographical accounts of Benjamin Banneker (1731–1806), a mulatto whose father was a native African and whose grandmother was English, have done his memory a disservice by obscuring his real achievements under a cloud of extravagant claims to scientific accomplishment that have no foundation in fact. The single notable exception is Silvio A. Bedini's The Life of Benjamin Banneker (New York, 1972), a work of painstaking research and scrupulous attention to accuracy which also benefits from the author's discovery of important and hitherto unavailable manuscript sources. ....
(3) Cerami, 2002, p. 142. "He (Banneker) has existed in dim memory mainly on mangled ideas about his work, and even utter falsehoods that are unwise attempts to glorify a man who needs no such embellishments."
(4) Fasanelli, Florence D, "Benjamin Banneker's Life and Mathematics: Web of Truth? Legends as Facts; Man vs. Legend", a talk given on January 8, 2004, at the MAA/AMS meeting in Phoenix, AZ. Cited in Mahoney, John F (July 2010). "Benjamin Banneker's Inscribed Equilateral Triangle - References". Loci. Mathematical Association of America. 2. Archived from the original on December 26, 2017. Retrieved December 26, 2017.
(5) Johnson, Richard (2007). "Banneker, Benjamin (1731-1806)". Online Encyclopedia of Significant People and Places in African American History. BlackPast.org. Archived from the original on March 9, 2014. Retrieved May 14, 2015.(Banneker's) life and work have become enshrouded in legend and anecdote.
(6) Maryland Historical Society Library Department (February 6, 2014). "The Dreams of Benjamin Banneker". Underbelly: African American History. Maryland Historical Society. Archived from the original on February 19, 2018. Retrieved February 19, 2018.Over the 200 years since the death of Benjamin Banneker (1731-1806), his story has become a muddled combination of fact, inference, misinformation, hyperbole, and legend. Like many other figures throughout history, the small amount of surviving source material has nurtured the development of a degree of mythology surrounding his story.
(7) "A look into Benjamin Banneker's 1793 Almanac". Book of the Month: Banneker's Almanac. Haverford, Pennsylvania: Haverford College. April 18, 2016. Retrieved April 9, 2020.In 1806, shortly after Banneker's death, a fire at his home destroyed most of his personal papers (Gillispie). This gap in substantial archival material has hardly hindered the development of the Benjamin Banneker legend; perhaps it has even aided its growth. ..... The narrative that tells of Banneker's life as one of mythical success and unprecedented exceptionalism easily draws an audience, but it washes over what might be more intellectually rewarding questions about the man's life. .... For now, the legend of Benjamin Banneker will continue to exist in his old almanacs and in present culture, serving as an inspiring enigma for those who wonder what lies beyond the surface-level stories of the past.
(8) Bellis, Mary (updated June 20, 2017). "Biography of Benjamin Banneker, Author and Naturalist". ThoughtCo. New York: Dotdash. Archived from the original on October 14, 2017.Banneker's life became the source of legend after his death, with many attributing certain accomplishments to him for which there is little or no evidence in the historical record.
(9) Biography.com Editors (April 12, 2019). "Benjamin Banneker Biography". The Biography.com website. A&E Television Networks. Archived from the original on June 23, 2019. Retrieved April 8, 2020.With limited materials having been preserved related to Banneker's life and career, there's been a fair amount of legend and misinformation presented.
(10) Keene, Louis. "Benjamin Banneker: The Black Tobacco Farmer Who The Presidents Couldn't Ignore". The White House Historical Association. Archived from the original on August 31, 2019. Retrieved February 25, 2020.Perhaps owing to the scarcity of recorded fact about his remarkable life, and because he was often invoked symbolically to advance social causes like abolition, Banneker’s story has been susceptible to mythmaking. He has been incorrectly credited with drawing the street grid of Washington, D.C., making the first clock on the Eastern seaboard, being the first professional astronomer in America, and discovering the seventeen-year birth cycle of cicadas.
- Shipler, David K. (1998). The Myths of America. A Country of Strangers: Blacks and Whites in America. New York: Vintage Books. pp. 196–197. ISBN 0679734546. LCCN 97002810. OCLC 39849003 – via Google Books.
The Banneker story, impressive as it was, got embellished in 1987, when the public school system in Portland, Oregon, published African-American Baseline Essays, a thick stack of loose-leaf background papers for teachers, commissioned to encourage black history instruction. They have been used in Detroit, Atlanta, Fort Lauderdale, Newark, and scattered schools elsewhere, although they have been attacked for gross inaccuracy in an entire literature of detailed criticism by respected historians. ....
- (1) Bedini, 1969, p. 7. "The name of Benjamin Banneker, the Afro-American self-taught mathematician and almanac-maker, occurs again and again in the several published accounts of the survey of Washington City begun in 1791, but with conflicting reports of the role which he played. Writers have implied a wide range of involvement, from the keeper of horses or supervisor of the woodcutters, to the full responsibility of not only the survey of the ten mile square but the design of the city as well. None of these accounts has described the contribution which Banneker actually made."
(2) Bedini, 1972, p. 126. "Benjamin Banneker's name does not appear on any of the contemporary documents or records relating to the selection, planning, and survey of the City of Washington. An exhaustive search of the files under Public Buildings and Grounds in the U.S. National Archives and of the several collections in the Library of Congress have proved fruitless. A careful perusal of all known surviving correspondence and papers of Andrew Ellicott and of Pierre Charles L'Enfant has likewise failed to reveal mention of Banneker. This conclusively dispels the legend that after L'Enfant's dismissal and his refusal to make available his plan of the city, Ellicott was able to reconstruct it in detail from Banneker's recollection. Equally untrue are legends that Thomas Jefferson as Secretary of State invited Banneker to luncheon at the White House. Jefferson during this period was in Philadelphia, the national capital had not yet been built, and there was no White House.”
(3) Boyd, Julian P., ed. (1974). Locating the Federal District: Editorial Note: Footnote number 119. The Papers of Thomas Jefferson: 24 January–31 March 1791. 19. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. pp. 41–43. ISBN 9780691185255. LCCN 50007486. OCLC 1045069058. Retrieved March 27, 2019 – via Google Books.
Recent biographical accounts of Benjamin Banneker (1731–1806), a mulatto whose father was a native African and whose grandmother was English, have done his memory a disservice by obscuring his real achievements under a cloud of extravagant claims to scientific accomplishment that have no foundation in fact. The single notable exception is Silvio A. Bedini's The Life of Benjamin Banneker (New York, 1972), a work of painstaking research and scrupulous attention to accuracy which also benefits from the author's discovery of important and hitherto unavailable manuscript sources. However, as Bedini points out, the story of Banneker's involvement in the survey of the Federal District "rests on extremely meager documentation" (p. 104). This consists of a single mention by TJ, two brief statements by Banneker himself, and the newspaper allusion quoted above. In consequence, Bedini's otherwise reliable biography accepts the version of Banneker's role in this episode as presented in reminiscences of nineteenth-century authors. These recollections, deriving in large part from members of the Ellicott family, who were prompted by Quaker inclinations to justice and equality, have compounded the confusion. The nature of TJ's connection with Banneker is treated in the Editorial Note to the group of documents under 30 Aug. 1791, but because of the obscured record it is necessary here to attempt a clarification of the role of this modest, self-taught tobacco farmer in the laying out of the national capital.
First of all, because of unwarranted claims to the contrary, it must be pointed out that there is no evidence whatever that Banneker had anything to do with the survey of the Federal City or indeed with the final establishment of the boundaries of the Federal District. All available testimony shows that he was present only during the few weeks early in 1791 when the rough preliminary survey of the ten mile square was made; that, after this was concluded and before the final survey was begun, he returned to his farm and his astronomical studies in April, accompanying Ellicott part way on his brief journey back to Philadelphia; and that thenceforth he had no connection with the mapping of the seat of government. ...
In any case, Banneker's participation in the surveying of the Federal District was unquestionably brief and his role uncertain.
(4) Martel, Erich (February 20, 1994). "The Egyptian Illusion". Opinions. The Washington Post. Archived from the original on September 18, 2018. Retrieved September 17, 2018.Teachers who want reliable information on African American history often don't know where to turn. Many have unfortunately looked to unreliable books and publications by Afrocentric writers. The African American Baseline Essays, developed by the public school system in Portland, Ore., are the most widespread Afrocentric teaching material. Educators should be aware of their crippling flaws. ....
"Thomas Jefferson appointed Benjamin Banneker to survey the site for the capital, Washington, D.C.; ...." according to the essay on African American scientists.
Had the author consulted "The Life of Benjamin Banneker" by Silvio Bedini, considered the definitive biography, he would have discovered no evidence for these claims. Jefferson appointed Andrew Ellicott to conduct the survey; Ellicott made Banneker his assistant for three months in 1791.
(6) Bedini, 1999, p. 318. "In the two centuries since Banneker's death, his achievements have been forgotten or misrepresented ..... In November 1971, on the anniversary of Banneker's birthday, the secretary of the interior authorized the 10th Street Overlook outside L'Enfant Plaza in Washington to be renamed and dedicated by the mayor as Benjamin Banneker Park. Once again, the reasons presented by the speakers on the occasion and widely reported by the press had been all based on erroneous information: Banneker was hailed for his contribution after L'Enfant was dismissed and Banneker "saved the plan by reconstructing it from memory”.”
(7) Murdock. "This very well-researched book also helps lay to rest some of the myths about what Banneker did and did not do during his most unusual lifetime; unfortunately, many websites and books continue to propagate these myths, probably because those authors do not understand what Banneker actually accomplished."
(8) Toscano, 2000. "Some writers, in an effort to build up their hero, claim that Banneker was the designer of Washington. Other writers have asserted that Banneker's role in the survey is a myth without documentation. Neither group is correct. Bedini does a professional job of sorting out the truth from the falsehoods."
(9) Cerami, 2002, pp. 142–143.
(10) Levine, Michael (November 10, 2003). "L'Enfant designed more than D.C.: He designed a 200-year-old controversy". History: Planning Our Capital City: Get to know the District of Columbia. DCpages.com. Archived from the original on December 6, 2003. Retrieved December 31, 2016.
(11) Bigbytes. "Benjamin Banneker Stories". dcsymbols dot com. Archived from the original on December 6, 2003. Retrieved January 1, 2017.
(12) Weatherly, Myra (2006). An Important Task. Benjamin Banneker: American Scientific Pioneer. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Compass Point Books. pp. 76–77. ISBN 0756515793. LCCN 2005028708. OCLC 61864300. Archived from the original on August 27, 2019. Retrieved August 27, 2019 – via Google Books.
The conflicts surrounding L'Enfant gave rise to an often—repeated story that involved Banneker. According to the story, Banneker, having seen the original design for the city only once, re-created it in detail after L'Enfant returned to France with the original plans. This legend has led some people to credit Banneker with a greater role in creating the capital city. However, there is no evidence that Banneker contributed anything to the design of the city or that he ever met L'Enfant.
Modern historians acknowledge that the inaccurate information—the myths surrounding Banneker—resulted in his contributions to the city being overvalued. Unfortunately, those myths sometimes obscure Banneker's greatest contribution to society—the almanacs that he would publish in his later years.
(13) Brownell, Richard (February 8, 2016). "Benjamin Banneker's Capital Contributions". Boundary Stones: WETA's Local History Blog. Arlington County, Virginia: WETA. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
(14) Arnebeck, Bob (January 2, 2017). "Washington Examined: Seat of Empire: the General and the Plan 1790 to 1801". Blogger. Archived from the original on January 29, 2018. Retrieved January 29, 2018.Meanwhile Andrew Ellicott, the nation's Surveyor General, finished surveying the boundary lines of the federal district, and joined L'Enfant in laying out the city. (Ellicott showed a fine sense of the opportunity presented by the project by hiring a mathematician who was a "free Negro," to help with the survey. The Georgetown newspaper noted the significance of Benjamin Banneker's participation but, nearly sixty years old, he left the arduous project in May and returned to Baltimore to publish his almanac, and thus, contrary to legend, had nothing to do with L'Enfant's plan).
In late August L'Enfant took his completed plan to Philadelphia. The president approved but thought it premature to designate the sites of the other buildings and many monuments that L'Enfant envisioned.
(15) Keene, Louis. "Benjamin Banneker: The Black Tobacco Farmer Who The Presidents Couldn't Ignore". The White House Historical Association. Archived from the original on August 31, 2019. Retrieved February 25, 2020.Perhaps owing to the scarcity of recorded fact about his remarkable life, and because he was often invoked symbolically to advance social causes like abolition, Banneker’s story has been susceptible to mythmaking. He has been incorrectly credited with drawing the street grid of Washington, D.C., ....
- (1) Whiteman, Maxwell (1969). BENJAMIN BANNEKER: Surveyor and Astronomer: 1731-1806: A biographical note In Whiteman, Maxwell (ed.) "The plan for a "Peace Office" in the Government of the United States, which also appeared in this issue (Banneker's 1793 Philadelphia almanac) has been attributed to Banneker. According to Edwin Wolf 2nd, Librarian of the Library Company of Philadelphia from whose institution these copies have been made, the "Peace Office" is the work of Dr. Benjamin Rush."
(2) Bedini, 1972, p. 186. "Another important item in the 1793 almanac was "A Plan Of a Peace-Office for the United States," which aroused a good deal of comment at the time. It was believed by many to have been Banneker's own work. Even within recent decades its authorship has been debated. In 1947 it was identified without question as the work of Dr. Benjamin Rush, in a volume of his writings that appeared in that year."
(3) Martel, Erich (February 20, 1994). "The Egyptian Illusion". Opinions. The Washington Post. Archived from the original on September 18, 2018. Retrieved September 17, 2018..... "Banneker "wrote a proposal for the establishment of a United States Department of Peace," according to the essay on African American scientists.
Had the author consulted "The Life of Benjamin Banneker" by Silvio Bedini, considered the definitive biography, he would have discovered no evidence for these claims. .... Benjamin Rush authored the Department of Peace proposal; the confusion arose among earlier biographers because the proposal appeared in Banneker's 1793 almanac.
(4) Bedini, 1999, p. 43. "Banneker's clock was by no means the first timepiece in tidewater Maryland, as occasionally has erroneously been claimed. Timepieces were well known and available from the very earliest English settlements, ...."
(5) Keene, Louis. "Benjamin Banneker: The Black Tobacco Farmer Who The Presidents Couldn't Ignore". The White House Historical Association. Archived from the original on August 31, 2019. Retrieved February 25, 2020.Perhaps owing to the scarcity of recorded fact about his remarkable life, and because he was often invoked symbolically to advance social causes like abolition, Banneker's story has been susceptible to mythmaking. He has been incorrectly credited with ......, making the first clock on the Eastern seaboard, being the first professional astronomer in America, and discovering the seventeen-year birth cycle of cicadas.
- L'Enfant, Peter Charles; United States Coast and Geodetic Survey; United States Commissioner of Public Buildings (1887). "Plan of the city intended for the permanent seat of the government of t(he) United States: projected agreeable to the direction of the President of the United States, in pursuance of an act of Congress passed the sixteenth day of July, MDCCXC, "establishing the permanent seat on the bank of the Potowmac": [Washington, D.C.]". Washington: United States Coast and Geodetic Survey. LCCN 88694201. Retrieved March 5, 2017. Facsimile of the 1791 L'Enfant plan in Repository of the Library of Congress Geography and Map Division, Washington, D.C.
- National Capital Planning Commission (1976). History. Boundary markers of the Nation's Capital: a proposal for their preservation & protection: a National Capital Planning Commission Bicentennial report. Washington, D.C.: National Capital Planning Commission; For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, United States Government Printing Office. pp. 3–9. OCLC 3772302. Retrieved February 22, 2016 – via HathiTrust Digital Library.
- (1) Ellicott, Andrew (1793). "Territory of Columbia". Maps. Library of Congress. Archived from the original on October 11, 2016. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
Notes: ... Accompanied by positive and negative photocopies of 3 letters dated 1793 relating to the map, 1 of which signed by: And'w Ellicott.
(2) L'Enfant identified himself as "Peter Charles L'Enfant" during most of his life, while residing in the United States. He wrote this name on his "Plan of the city intended for the permanent seat of the government of t(he) United States ...." (Washington, D.C.) and on other legal documents. However, during the early 1900s, a French ambassador to the U.S., Jean Jules Jusserand, popularized the use of L'Enfant's birth name, "Pierre Charles L'Enfant". (Reference: Bowling, Kenneth R. (2002). Peter Charles L'Enfant: vision, honor, and male friendship in the early American Republic. Washington, D.C.: George Washington University. Archived from the original on July 1, 2014. Retrieved April 24, 2015 – via Google Books.) The United States Code states in 40 U.S.C. § 3309: "(a) In General.—The purposes of this chapter shall be carried out in the District of Columbia as nearly as may be practicable in harmony with the plan of Peter Charles L'Enfant." The National Park Service identifies L'Enfant as "Major Peter Charles L'Enfant Archived 2014-04-05 at the Wayback Machine" and as "Major Pierre (Peter) Charles L'Enfant" on its website. - (1) Bedini, 1969, p. 22-23."Considerable confusion developed among subsequent writers concerning the relative roles of Ellicott, L'Enfant and Banneker in the survey of the Federal City. Ellicott was, contrary to popular misconception, the first to receive an appointment to the project. His assignment was specifically to produce a survey of a ten-mile square within which the national capital was to be designed and laid out by L'Enfant. Ellicott and L'Enfant each worked independently under the supervision of the Commissioners appointed by Washington. After L'Enfant's subsequent dismissal, Ellicott was assigned the dual responsibility for continuing L'Enfant's work on the design of the city, and layout of public buildings, streets and property lots, in addition to completing his survey. Banneker was employed directly by Ellicott and did not at any time, as far as can be determined, work with or for L'Enfant."
- Passonneau, Joseph R. (2004). Washington Through Two Centuries: A History in Maps and Images. New York: The Monacelli Press, Inc. pp. 14–16, 24–27. ISBN 1-58093-091-3. OCLC 53443052.
(2) Ellicott, Andrew (1793). "Territory of Columbia". Maps. Library of Congress. Archived from the original on October 11, 2016. Retrieved October 22, 2016.Notes: ... Accompanied by positive and negative photocopies of 3 letters dated 1793 relating to the map, 1 of which signed by: And'w Ellicott.
- Bedini, 1969, p. 22-23."Considerable confusion developed among subsequent writers concerning the relative roles of Ellicott, L'Enfant and Banneker in the survey of the Federal City. Ellicott was, contrary to popular misconception, the first to receive an appointment to the project. His assignment was specifically to produce a survey of a ten-mile square within which the national capital was to be designed and laid out by L'Enfant. Ellicott and L'Enfant each worked independently under the supervision of the Commissioners appointed by Washington. After L'Enfant's subsequent dismissal, Ellicott was assigned the dual responsibility for continuing L'Enfant's work on the design of the city, and layout of public buildings, streets and property lots, in addition to completing his survey. Banneker was employed directly by Ellicott and did not at any time, as far as can be determined, work with or for L'Enfant."
- Bowling
- (1) Crew, pp. 101-102 Archived November 11, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
(2) "Plan of the City of Washington". Washington Map Society. March 22, 1997. Archived from the original on June 23, 2012. Retrieved June 29, 2012. - Boyd, Julian P., ed. (1974). Locating the Federal District: Editorial Note: Footnote number 119. The Papers of Thomas Jefferson: 24 January–31 March 1791. 19. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. pp. 41–43. ISBN 9780691185255. LCCN 50007486. OCLC 1045069058. Retrieved March 27, 2019 – via Google Books.
Recent biographical accounts of Benjamin Banneker (1731–1806), a mulatto whose father was a native African and whose grandmother was English, have done his memory a disservice by obscuring his real achievements under a cloud of extravagant claims to scientific accomplishment that have no foundation in fact. The single notable exception is Silvio A. Bedini's The Life of Benjamin Banneker (New York, 1972), a work of painstaking research and scrupulous attention to accuracy which also benefits from the author's discovery of important and hitherto unavailable manuscript sources. However, as Bedini points out, the story of Banneker's involvement in the survey of the Federal District "rests on extremely meager documentation" (p. 104). This consists of a single mention by TJ, two brief statements by Banneker himself, and the newspaper allusion quoted above. In consequence, Bedini's otherwise reliable biography accepts the version of Banneker's role in this episode as presented in reminiscences of nineteenth-century authors. These recollections, deriving in large part from members of the Ellicott family, who were prompted by Quaker inclinations to justice and equality, have compounded the confusion. The nature of TJ's connection with Banneker is treated in the Editorial Note to the group of documents under 30 Aug. 1791, but because of the obscured record it is necessary here to attempt a clarification of the role of this modest, self-taught tobacco farmer in the laying out of the national capital.
First of all, because of unwarranted claims to the contrary, it must be pointed out that there is no evidence whatever that Banneker had anything to do with the survey of the Federal City or indeed with the final establishment of the boundaries of the Federal District. All available testimony shows that he was present only during the few weeks early in 1791 when the rough preliminary survey of the ten mile square was made; that, after this was concluded and before the final survey was begun, he returned to his farm and his astronomical studies in April, accompanying Ellicott part way on his brief journey back to Philadelphia; and that thenceforth he had no connection with the mapping of the seat of government. ...
In any case, Banneker's participation in the surveying of the Federal District was unquestionably brief and his role uncertain. - (1) Bedini, 1964.
(2) Bedini, 1969. Archived October 7, 2017, at the Wayback Machine
(3) Bedini, 1972.
(4) Bedini, 1991.
(5) Bedini,1999.
(6) Murdock
(7) Toscano, 2000.
(8) Bedini, 2008. - Tyson, Martha Ellicott (1884). Kirk, Anne Tyson (ed.). Banneker, the Afric-American Astronomer. From the posthumous papers of M.E. Tyson. Edited by her daughter. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Friends' Book Association. pp. 38–39. LCCN 04013085. OCLC 79879919. Archived from the original on February 3, 2016 – via Google Books.
Major Ellicott selected Benjamin Banneker as his assistant upon this occasion, and it was with his aid that the lines of the Federal Territory, as the District of Columbia was then called, were run.
Quoted in Bedini, 1969, p. 26.
It was the work, also of Major Elllicott, under the orders of General Washington, then President of the United States, to locate the sites of the Capitol, President's House, Treasury and other public buildings. In this, also, Banneker was his assistant. - Bedini, 1969, p. 7. "The name of Benjamin Banneker, the Afro-American self-taught mathematician and almanac-maker, occurs again and again in the several published accounts of the survey of Washington City [D.C.] begun in 1791, but with conflicting reports of the role which he played. Writers have implied a wide range of involvement, from the keeper of horses or supervisor of the woodcutters, to the full responsibility of not only the survey of the ten-mile square but the design of the city as well. None of these accounts has described the contribution which Banneker actually made."
- The following websites and publications relate parts or all of various versions of this story:
(1) Tyson, Martha Ellicott (1884). Kirk, Anne Tyson (ed.). Banneker, the Afric-American Astronomer. From the posthumous papers of M.E. Tyson. Edited by her daughter. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Friends' Book Association. pp. 38–39. LCCN 04013085. OCLC 79879919. Archived from the original on February 3, 2016 – via Google Books.Major Ellicott selected Benjamin Banneker as his assistant upon this occasion, and it was with his aid that the lines of the Federal Territory, as the District of Columbia was then called, were run.
Quoted in Bedini, 1969, p. 26.
It was the work, also of Major Elllicott, under the orders of General Washington, then President of the United States, to locate the sites of the Capitol, President's House, Treasury and other public buildings. In this, also, Banneker was his assistant.
(2) Cromwell, John W. (1914). Benjamin Banneker. The Negro in American History: Men and Women Eminent in the Evolution of the American of African Descent. Washington: The Negro Academy. p. 90. LCCN 14007742. OCLC 1049895792. Retrieved March 10, 2019 – via HathiTrust Digital Library.In keeping with the provisions of the Constitutional Convention, Maryland and Virginia had ceded to the central government certain territory, known as the Federal Territory, to be used as the Nation's Capital, but its exact boundaries had not been fixed. Mr. Andrew Ellicott was commissioned to survey the boundaries and Benjamin Banneker was invited as a man of scientific attainments and professional skill to assist in the work. He accepted the invitation and shared in the fixing of the boundaries of the District, in the selection of the site of the Capitol Building, in locating an eligible site for the Executive Mansion, the Treasury and other buildings.
(4) Caughey, John Walton; Franklin, John Hope; May, Ernest R. (1966). Land of the Free: A History of the United States. New York: Benziger Brothers. pp. 192–193. LCCN 66012962. OCLC 654547410. Archived from the original on October 15, 2019. Retrieved October 15, 2019 – via Google Books..... . The third member was a Quaker businessman and scientist, George Ellicott. L'Enfant, Banneker and Ellicott drew up plans for a city that was greater than Rome, Paris, or London.
(4) Committees of the Professional Staff During the School Year 1967-1968 (1967). "Grade Four: Social Studies" (PDF). Education for Intercultural Relations (Grades K-12). Evansville, Indiana: Evansville-Vanderburgh School Corporation. p. 26. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 25, 2015. Retrieved February 15, 2019.Benjamin Banneker, laid out Washington
(5) Diversity Development (2004). "Benjamin Banneker" (PDF). Publication 354: African Americans on Stamps: A Celebration of African-American Heritage. United States Postal Service. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2011. Retrieved March 14, 2015.A self-taught mathematician and astronomer, Benjamin Banneker was probably the most accomplished African American of America's colonial period. .... In 1791 he helped design and survey the city of Washington, D.C.
(6) "Early Pioneers". Arago: People, Postage & The Post (Exhibits). Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian National Postal Museum. Archived from the original on February 3, 2016. Retrieved January 8, 2018.A self-taught mathematician and astronomer, Benjamin Banneker was probably the most accomplished African American of America's colonial period. .... In 1791 he helped design and survey the city of Washington, D.C.
(7) Seats, Peggy C. (April 21, 2004). "Two Centuries Later: Rumors Continue to Abound Regarding Benjamin Banneker's Contributions in the Planning of WDC" (PDF). The Memorial: Benjamin Banneker White Paper. Washington Interdependence Council: Administrators of the Benjamin Banneker Memorial. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 15, 2015. Retrieved September 15, 2015.In an effort to cover up the role Banneker played as one of the Founding Architects of DC, it was George Washington who insisted, however, that the L'Enfant Plan was named for L'Enfant although, in actuality, it was produced by Ellicott and Banneker. This mandate was made by Washington, in addition to authorizing the raiding of Ellicott's office for evidence of Banneker's journals, and astronomical charting, including his prediction of an eclipse, as they were embarrassed by L'Enfant's inability to technically execute a plan and had to save face. .... Benjamin Banneker played a critical role in not only helping to survey the nation's capitol, but also in helping to determine astrological influences upon the capitol by virtue of the timing of certain dominating astronomical, astrological influences and strategic metaphysical influences as implemented in concert with the stars which directly impacted the selection for the placement of key buildings and grand boulevards such as 16th St., NW.
(8) Editors of Time Magazine (December 28, 2004). Time Almanac 2005. Time Almanac with Information Please. Time Home Entertainment, Inc. p. 204. ISBN 1932273352. OCLC 57219160. Archived from the original on December 13, 2018. Retrieved December 13, 2018 – via Google Books.The city was planned and partly laid out by Maj. Pierre Charles L'Enfant, a French engineer. That work was perfected and completed by Maj. Andrew Ellicott and Benjamin Banneker, a freeborn black man, who was an astronomer and mathematician.
(9) "His Story: A Man of Many Firsts". Washington Interdependence Council: Administrators of the Benjamin Banneker Memorial. 2005. Archived from the original on May 6, 2006. Retrieved June 29, 2012 – via The JBG Companies.Banneker was a member of the first presidential appointed team charged with the establishment of the nation's capitol. His astronomical calculations and implementations played a critical role is establishing points of astronomical significance in the nation's capitol, including the location of the 16th Street Meridian, Boundary Stones, White House, Capitol and Treasury Building. Banneker worked as Assistant to Major Andrew Ellicott, America's Geographer General, thereby serving as a critical member of the team of the first presidential commission. In this capacity, he provided the astronomical calculations for the project, and assisted in the reconstruction of the plans for laying out the streets of the nation's capitol. He and Major Ellicott both surveyed the area of, and configured the final layout for, the placement of major governmental buildings, boulevards and avenues as drawn for the map for the nation's capitol, producing the finished document commonly deferred to as the L'Enfant Plan.
(10) Sheet, Dutch; Pierce, Chuck D (2005). Brief History of Washington, D.C. Releasing The Prophetic Destiny Of A Nation: Discovering How Your Future Can Be Greater Than Your Past. Shippensburg, Pennsylvania: Destiny Image Publishers, Inc. p. 169. ISBN 0768422841. OCLC 60768598. Archived from the original on June 12, 2017. Retrieved December 14, 2018 – via Google Books.The city was planned and partly laid out by [Major] Pierre Charles L'Enfant, a French engineer. That work was perfected and completed by [Major] Andrew Ellicott and Benjamin Banneker, a freeborn black man, who was an astronomer and mathematician.
- Murray, Daniel. A Paper Read Before the Banneker of Association of Washington. In Allen, Will W. (1921). Banneker: The Afro-American Astronomer. Washington, D.C. LCCN 21017456. OCLC 10344679. Reprinted in Allen, Will W.; Murray, Daniel (2005). Banneker: The Afro-American Astronomer. Baltimore, Maryland: Black Classic Press. pp. 12–15. ISBN 0933121-48-2. OCLC 808618979. Archived from the original on December 15, 2018. Retrieved August 16, 2017 – via Google Books.
- Klinkowitz, Jerome. Benjamin Banneker. Early Writers: Jupiter Hammon, Phillis Wheatley, and Benjamin Banneker. In Inge, M. Thomas; Duke, Maurice; Bryer, Jackson R., eds. (1978). Black American Writers: Biographical Essays. 1: Beginnings Through the Harlem Renaissance and Langston Hughes. New York: St. Martin's Press. pp. 18–20. doi:10.1007/978-1-349-81436-7. ISBN 0312082606. LCCN 77085987. OCLC 756464907. Retrieved March 22, 2020 – via Google Books.
- "Howard U Gets Memorial to Benjamin Banneker" (PDF). Chicago, Illinois: The Chicago Defender (National edition). ProQuest Historical Newspapers. February 16, 1929. p. A1. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 9, 2017. Retrieved November 9, 2017 – via The Pearl of Omega.
- Jusserand, p. 190. Archived 2016-06-10 at the Wayback Machine
- (1) Highsmith, Carol M. (photographer). ""Benjamin Banneker: Surveyor-Inventor-Astronomer," mural by Maxime Seelbinder, at the Recorder of Deeds building, built in 1943. 515 D St., NW, Washington, D.C." Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress. Archived from the original (photograph) on November 1, 2017. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
(2) "Recorder of Deeds Building: Seelbinder Mural – Washington DC". The Living New Deal. Archived from the original on January 11, 2020. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
(3) Norfleet, Nicole (March 11, 2010). "D.C. Recorder of Deeds moving but fate of murals unclear". The Breaking News Blog. Washington, D.C.: The Washington Post. Archived from the original on October 3, 2016. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
(4) For source of the Plan of the City of Washington depicted in lower right corner of mural, see: Ellicott, Andrew; Thackara & Vallance, Philadelphia (1792). "Plan of the city of Washington in the territory of Columbia: ceded by the states of Virginia and Maryland to the United States of America, and by them established as the seat of their government, after the year MDCCC". Library of Congress. Archived from the original on March 9, 2019. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
(5) For source of the map depicted in upper right corner of mural, see: "View of the City of Washington in 1792". Library of Congress. Archived from the original on March 9, 2019. Retrieved March 9, 2019. - Sefton, D.P., DC Preservation League, Washington, DC (July 1, 2010). "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Recorder of Deeds Building" (PDF). Washington, D.C: District of Columbia Office of Planning. Section 9, pp. 18-19. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 5, 2016. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
Although the ROD Building was a municipal building, the District of Columbia's peculiar sovereignty status required that the federal government approve its construction, and the Treasury Department Section of Fine Arts play a major role in its arts program. .... The Treasury Section's December 1, 1942 announcement of the ROD Building mural competition was a term paper-like, ten page document that required artists to submit their entries unsigned for anonymous judging.81 Mural subjects had been "carefully worked out by the Recorder...following intensive research." Dr. Tompkins had determined that "in view of the history of the office of the Recorder of Deeds... the united theme... [will] reflect a phase of the contribution of the Negro to the American nation." The announcement prescribed each of the seven mural's placement, size, subject, and setting in detail, citing historical reference works for its content. For example, "Benjamin Banneker Surveys the District of Columbia" was to "show the presentation by Banneker and Mayor Ellicott, of the plans of the District of Columbia to the President, [and] Mr. Thomas Jefferson" in the presence of Benjamin Franklin and Alexander Hamilton.
- Graham, 1949, Notes on Sources, p. 227. "This story of Benjamin Banneker has been constructed within the framework of little known true facts. All dates and main events can be documented. All gaps have been filled in with incidents of whose probablity I am convinced".
- Bedini, 1972, p. 300. "Martha Tyson's posthumous book was the last work about Banneker to be based on original materials. During the next several decades, numerous articles in periodicals and newspapers mentioned Banneker's life and works, but each was based on earlier publications without contributing new materials. .... Finally, in 1949 another biography of Banneker appeared. This work by Shirley Graham was highly fictionalized and written for young people. It became popular, but the lack of distinction between fact and fiction in its presentation, while a compliment to the writing skill of Shirley Graham, has resulted in yet more confusion concerning Banneker's achievements and their importance."
- Graham, 1949, Chapter XI: ----- Sir, I Have the Plans in My Head, pp. 170-178.
- The following websites and publications relate parts or all of various versions of this myth:
- Lewis, C. L. (February 1966). "Benjamin Banneker: The Man Who Saved Washington, D. C." Negro Digest: Negro History Issue. Chicago, Illinois: Johnson Publishing Company, Inc. 15 (4): 18–20. Retrieved February 17, 2019 – via Google Books.
- Drotning, Phillip T. (1969). Black Heroes in Our Nation's History: A Tribute to Those Who Helped Shape America. New York: Cowles Book Company, Inc. p. 35. LCCN 69017306. OCLC 558488211. Retrieved February 12, 2019 – via Google Books.
Banneker and George Ellicott, a Quaker friend, selected the sites for the Capitol, the White House, and other major government buildings. The black surveyor also helped L'Enfant lay out the ingenious arrangement of broad avenues, mall, circles, and parks that make Washington such an attractive city even today. When a dispute arose between George Washington and L'Enfant in 1792, resulting in the French architect's dismissal ....
- Haber, Louis (1970). Banjamin Banneker: 1731—1806. Black Pioneers of Science and Invention (First Oddssey Classics (1992) ed.). Harcourt. pp. 15–16. ISBN 9780152085667. LCCN 91008923. OCLC 1024156094. Retrieved March 15, 2019 – via Google Books.
At about the time that Banneker began working on his almanac, President Washington had decided to move the capital from Philadelphia to a new location that was to be called Washington. He appointed Major Pierre Charles L'Enfant who had served in the Continental Army in the Corps of Engineers, to be in charge of building the new city. Major Andrew Ellicott, one of the Ellicott boys, was named Chief Surveyor. At Jefferson's request, Banneker was appointed as the third member of the team.
The assignment was to define the boundaries of the new city and then design and lay out its streets and major buildings. Banneker worked closely with L'Enfant and his maps. But the bureaucrats of that day did not take kindly to a foreigner being given so much power and authority and they interfered in many frustrating ways. This resulted in the highly sensitive and hot-tempered L'Enfant resigning his position and returning to France, taking all of the plans and maps with him. Everyone was dismayed and Jefferson called a meeting of the men involved. What was to be done? Start all over again after more than a year's work? Despair and frustration showed on their faces. Suddenly Banneker asked, "Did you like the plans that were made?" All eyes turned to him. "Of course, but we don't have them." "I think I can reproduce them from memory", said Banneker. The men were astounded and somewhat skeptical. Banneker then went home, and because of his remarkable memory, was able to reproduce all the plans in two days. The work of laying out the city of Washington, with its streets and major buildings, was completed and stands today as a monument to Banneker's genius. - Lewis, Claude (1970). Chapter 9: Planning the Nation's Capital. Benjamin Banneker: The Man Who Saved Washington. New York: McGraw-Hill. pp. 79–95. LCCN 79092101. OCLC 72113. Retrieved September 19, 2019 – via Internet Archive.
He probably does, Mr. Secretary. Benjamin Banneker has an incredible memory. I've known him for years and if he says that he remembers the plans, I believe he does.
- Oliver, Elizabeth M. (December 9, 1978). "Ossie Davis Stars as Benjamin Banneker". Baltimore Afro-American. Baltimore, Maryland. p. 36. Retrieved February 15, 2019 – via Google News.
Before his death in 1806, Banneker had gained fame in America, France and England as a scientist, astronomer inventor of the first clock and the mathematician who laid out Washington, D.C. .... Suddenly, Major L'Enfant, chairman of the D.C. committee went back to France with the plans. But Banneker, who had an unbelievable memory reproduced the plans and the Capital was completed.
- "BENJAMIN BANNEKER (1731–1806)". Source: Empak "Black History" Publication Series (1985). "ChickenBones: A Journal for Literary & Artistic African-American Themes. October 18, 2007. Archived from the original on August 26, 2012. Retrieved June 29, 2012.
Banneker helped in selecting the sites for the U.S. Capitol building, the U.S. Treasury building, the White House and other Federal buildings. When the chairman of the civil engineering team, Major L'Enfant, abruptly resigned and returned to France with the plans, Banneker's photographic memory enabled him to reproduce them in their entirety. Washington, D.C., with its grand avenues and buildings, was completed and stands today as a monument to Banneker's genius.
- Miller, E. Lynn (1995). Birnbaum, Charles A.; Fix, Julie K. (eds.). "Banneker, Benjamin". Pioneers of American Landscape Design II: An Annotated Biography: United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Cultural Resources, Heritage Preservation Services, Historic Landscape Initiative. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office. pp. 13–15. ISBN 0160480604. LCCN 96118947. OCLC 605386759. Retrieved March 11, 2019 – via HathiTrust Digital Library.
Since L'Enfant kept his plans and work secret, the only people who ever saw them were Ellicott and Banneker, who were surveying the land and responsible for providing him (Thomas Jefferson) with topographic information. L'Enfant, running into difficulties with land owners, was dismissed by President George Washington and promptly left town with all of his drawings. When Jefferson summoned Ellicott and Banneker to assess the damage and to possibly start over, Banneker told Jefferson that he could redraw the plans from memory in no more than three or four days.
Although the accuracy of this account cannot be completely documented, it seems that Banneker was the only one who had the mathematical mind and the photographic memory to accomplish such a stunning feat. The plan which is known today as the Ellicott plan is most likely the work of Andrew Ellicott and Benjamin Banneker. - Brown, Mitchell C. (2000). "Benjamin Banneker: Mathematician, Astronomer". The Faces of Science: African Americans in the Sciences. Princeton University. Archived from the original on August 18, 2000. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
Banneker and Ellicott worked closely with Pierre L'Enfant who was the architect in charge of planning Washington D.C. L'Enfant was suddenly dismissed from project, due to his temper. When he left, he took the plans with him. Banneker recreated the plans from memory, saving the U.S. government the effort and expense of having someone else design the capital.
- "Benjamin Banneker (1731–1806)". Upton, New York: Brookhaven Employees' Recreation Association, Brookhaven National Laboratory. Archived from the original on September 14, 2001. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
Without Benjamin Banneker, our nation's capital would not exist as we know it. After a year of work, the Frenchman hired by George Washington to design the capital, L'Enfant, stormed off the job, taking all the plans. Banneker, placed on the planning committee at Thomas Jefferson's request, saved the project by reproducing from memory, in two days, a complete layout of the streets, parks, and major buildings. Thus Washington, D.C. itself can be considered a monument to the genius of this great man.
- Asante, Molefi Kete (2002). "Benjamin Banneker". 100 Greatest African Americans: A Biographical Encyclopedia. Amherst, New York: Prometheus Books. p. 49. ISBN 1-57392-963-8. LCCN 2002018993. OCLC 606853456. Archived from the original on December 13, 2018. Retrieved December 12, 2018 – via Google Books.
... when President George Washington, in February 1791, commissioned Ellicott and the French engineer L'Enfant to help plan the construction of the nation's capital on an area of land twenty-five sq kilometer (10 sq mi) in Virginia and Maryland, Ellicott asked Banneker to assist him. Soon thereafter the Frenchman abandoned the project over a dispute with some Americans. L'Enfant refused to leave his plans with the surveying team, but because Banneker had placed close attention to the mathematical details, he was able to reproduce most of the plans and ideas from memory. For this reason, some refer to Washington, D.C., as Banneker's Town.
- "Benjamin Banneker: 1731-1806". Harcourt Multimedia Biographies. Harcourt School Publishers. Archived from the original on December 28, 2002. Retrieved July 2, 2012.
Major Pierre-Charles L'Enfant was asked to design the city. After a short time, L'Enfant was fired from the job and left town with the blueprints, or plan, of the city's layout. Luckily, Banneker had seen the plans and was able to redraw the layout of Washington, D.C., in two days. For this, Banneker won the admiration of the new American government.
- "An Early American Hero: Benjamin Banneker". SuccessMaker Enterprise. Pearson Education, Inc. Archived from the original on May 29, 2003. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
In 1792, when it seemed as if work on the United States of America's new capital city was about to come to a grinding halt, Benjamin Banneker came to the rescue. The French architect who had been in charge of planning the city, Pierre L'Enfant, was fired because of his hotheaded behavior. He immediately left the country and returned to France, taking with him all the plans for the city of Washington. President George Washington and Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson were distressed. Would they have to start all over, having a year's worth of work go to waste? Perhaps not. Noted surveyor Benjamin Banneker had been working closely with L'Enfant and Chief Surveyor Andrew Ellicott. Banneker thought he might be able to redraw all the plans—from memory! Two days later he delivered the plans, and construction proceeded without significant delay. Today the city of Washington, D.C., stands as a reminder of Banneker's genius. .... Today we remember Banneker for many different reasons. His great mind saved the plans for our nation's capital.
- Newbold, Ken (May 17, 2004). "Benjamin Banneker: A Brief Biography". Harrisonburg, Virginia: The James Madison Center, James Madison University. Archived from the original on May 23, 2009. Retrieved December 25, 2011.
In 1791, Major Andrew Ellicott asked Banneker to help him survey the "Federal Territory", which would become the nation's Capital. Working alongside, Pierre L'Enfant, Banneker became an expert on the plans for the city. L'Enfant was dismissed because of his temper and took the plans for Washington with him. Banneker recreated the plans from memory, saving the government the time and money of having to design the city.
- "Site Evaluation Study: Phase I: Data Gathering Report" (PDF). Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. September 30, 2005. p. 31. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 23, 2015. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
Benjamin Banneker, an African American, worked with Major Andrew Ellicott to play a central role in Pierre L'Enfant's original plan of the Nation's Capital. ... Banneker and Ellicott worked closely with Pierre L'Enfant in the planning of Washington, D.C. When L'Enfant was dismissed from the project and took his plans with him, Banneker recreated the plans from memory.
- The thirteenth paragraph of Bofah, Kofi (February 20, 2009). "Black History: Benjamin Banneker, Genius: The Legend of an Intellectual and Architect of Washington, D.C." Yahoo! Voices. Yahoo!. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved September 10, 2012.
- "Who was Benjamin Banneker?". Washington, D.C.: Benjamin Banneker Academic High School. 2009. Archived from the original on March 1, 2012. Retrieved June 29, 2012.
Banneker helped in selecting the sites for the U.S. Capitol building, the U.S. Treasury building, the White House and other Federal buildings. When the chairman of the civil engineering team, Major L'Enfant, abruptly resigned and returned to France with the plans, Banneker's photographic memory enabled him to reproduce them in their entirety. Washington, DC, with its grand avenues and buildings, was completed and stands today as a monument to Banneker's genius.
- Chamberlain, Gaius (March 11, 2012). "Benjamin Banneker". "The Black Inventor Online Museum". Adscape International, LLC. Archived from the original on January 9, 2018. Retrieved June 29, 2012.
Major Pierre L'Enfant from France was commissioned to develop the plans for the new city and at Jefferson's request, Banneker was included as one of the men appointed to assist him. Banneker consulted frequently with L'Enfant and studied his draft and plans for the Capitol City carefully. L'Enfant was subject to great criticism and hostility because he was a foreigner and abruptly resigned from the project and moved back to France. As the remaining members of the team gathered, they began debating as to how they should start from scratch. Banneker surprised them when he asserted that he could reproduce the plans from memory and in two days did exactly as he had promised. The plans he drew were the basis for the layout of streets, buildings and monuments that exist to this day in Washington D.C.
- "Benjamin Banneker The Man Who Designed Washington DC". African Globe. December 8, 2013. Archived from the original on November 3, 2018. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
Impressed by his abilities, Jefferson recommended Benjamin Banneker to be a part of a surveying team to lay out Washington, D.C. Appointed to the three-man team by president George Washington, Benjamin Banneker wound up saving the project when the lead architect quit in a fury – taking all the plans with him. Using his meticulous memory, Benjamin Banneker was able to recreate the plans.
- Cohan-Lawson, Elizabeth (January 31, 2014). "Benjamin Banneker—Abolitionist, Inventor, and Intellectual". I for Color: African American Voices in Art & History, created by Dale Ricardo Shields. p. 5. Archived from the original on November 3, 2014. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
It appeared as though the plan would have to be scrapped, but Banneker, with his eidetic memory, spent the next two days recreating the entirety of the schematics, saving the entire project. Dubbed "The Man Who Saved Washington", we owe the layout of our capital solely on Banneker's memory and dedication to a project that was almost a complete failure.
- Potter, Joan (2014). Who Made the First Clock in the American Colonies and was the First African American To Publish an Almanac?. African American Firsts: Famous, Little-Known and Unsung Triumphs of Blacks in America. New York: Dafina Books, Kensington Publishing Corporation. p. 334. ISBN 9780758292421. LCCN 2013388865. OCLC 864822516. Archived from the original on December 14, 2018. Retrieved December 14, 2018 – via Google Books.
In 1791, George Washington appointed a French engineer, Pierre L'Enfant, to design a plan for the nation's capital, and Banneker was chosen as one of the surveyors. But L'Enfant suddenly returned to France, taking the plans with him. Banneker, working only from memory, quickly reconstructed the entire design.
- "Benjamin Banneker". Student Encyclopedia. Encyclopædia Britannica: Compton's by Britannica. Britannica Online for Kids. Archived from the original on July 21, 2017. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
A story about Benjamin Banneker—African-American mathematician, astronomer, and inventor—suggests to what degree he had trained his memory. Appointed to the District of Columbia Commission by President George Washington in 1790, he worked with Pierre L'Enfant, Andrew Ellicott, and others to plan the new capital of Washington, D.C. After L'Enfant was dismissed from the project and took his detailed maps away with him, Banneker was able to reproduce them from memory.
- "Benjamin Banneker". Historical Inventors. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Massachusetts Institute of Technology: School of Engineering: Lemelson-MIT Program. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
Banneker became one of three surveyors appointed by President George Washington. Architect Pierre L'Enfant had been assigned the job of planning the city, but he was later dismissed from the project. When he left, he took the plans with him. Banneker recreated the plans in two days, including a complete layout of the streets, parks, and major buildings. Thus, the city of Washington, D.C. itself is somewhat of a tribute to Banneker's memory.
- "1980 Black Heritage Series: Benjamin Banneker Issue". Arago: People, Postage & The Post (Philately). Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian National Postal Museum. Archived from the original on December 23, 2015. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
As a member of the surveying team that laid out the plans for the new capitol, Washington, D.C., Banneker stepped up as chief architect when Pierre L'Enfant was fired. The first architect had taken the plans with him when he left so Banneker had to recreate the plans for the city from memory.
- (1) Lewis, C. L. (February 1966). "Benjamin Banneker: The Man Who Saved Washington, D. C." Negro Digest: Negro History Issue. Chicago, Illinois: Johnson Publishing Company, Inc. 15 (4): 18–20. Retrieved February 17, 2019 – via Google Books.
(2) Lewis, Claude (1970). Chapter 9: Planning the Nation's Capital. Benjamin Banneker: The Man Who Saved Washington. New York: McGraw-Hill. pp. 79–95. LCCN 79092101. OCLC 72113. Retrieved September 19, 2019 – via Internet Archive.He probably does, Mr. Secretary. Benjamin Banneker has an incredible memory. I've known him for years and if he says that he remembers the plans, I believe he does.
(3) Asante, Molefi Kete (2002). "Benjamin Banneker". 100 Greatest African Americans: A Biographical Encyclopedia. Amherst, New York: Prometheus Books. p. 49. ISBN 1-57392-963-8. LCCN 2002018993. OCLC 606853456. Archived from the original on December 13, 2018. Retrieved December 12, 2018 – via Google Books.... when President George Washington, in February 1791, commissioned Ellicott and the French engineer L'Enfant to help plan the construction of the nation's capital on an area of land twenty-five sq kilometer (10 sq mi) in Virginia and Maryland, Ellicott asked Banneker to assist him. Soon thereafter the Frenchman abandoned the project over a dispute with some Americans. L'Enfant refused to leave his plans with the surveying team, but because Banneker had placed close attention to the mathematical details, he was able to reproduce most of the plans and ideas from memory. For this reason, some refer to Washington, D.C., as Banneker's Town.
(4) "An Early American Hero: Benjamin Banneker". SuccessMaker Enterprise. Pearson Education, Inc. Archived from the original on May 29, 2003. Retrieved May 6, 2012.Noted surveyor Benjamin Banneker had been working closely with L'Enfant and Chief Surveyor Andrew Ellicott. Banneker thought he might be able to redraw all the plans—from memory! Two days later he delivered the plans, and construction proceeded without significant delay. Today the city of Washington, D.C., stands as a reminder of Banneker's genius.
(5) Bofah, Kofi (February 20, 2009). "Black History: Benjamin Banneker, Genius: The Legend of an Intellectual and Architect of Washington, D.C." Yahoo! Voices. Yahoo!. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved September 10, 2012.
(6) "Benjamin Banneker The Man Who Designed Washington DC". African Globe. December 8, 2012. Archived from the original on November 3, 2018. Retrieved December 13, 2018.Impressed by his abilities, Jefferson recommended Benjamin Banneker to be a part of a surveying team to lay out Washington, D.C. Appointed to the three-man team by president George Washington, Benjamin Banneker wound up saving the project when the lead architect quit in a fury – taking all the plans with him. Using his meticulous memory, Benjamin Banneker was able to recreate the plans.
- Graves, Lynne Gomez, Historical Projects Director, Afro-American Bicentennial Corporation, Washington, D.C (February 3, 1976). "Benjamin Banneker: SW-9 Intermediate Boundary Stone (milestone) of the District of Columbia" (PDF). United States Department of the Interior: National Park Service: National Register of Historic Places Inventory––Nomination Form. Richmond, Virginia: Virginia Department of Historic Resources. p. Continuation Sheet: Item No. 8, p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 1, 2016. Retrieved October 7, 2016.
- Nye, Edwin Darby (June 23, 1963). "Boundary Stones". The Washington Star Sunday Magazine. p. 7.
- Hynak, Barbara A.(Chairman, District V Boundary Markers Committee, Virginia Daughters of the American Revolution) (July 9, 1990). "Boundary Markers of the original District of Columbia" (PDF). United States Department of the Interior: National Park Service: National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Documentation Form. Richmond, Virginia: Virginia Department of Historic Resources. p. E.2. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 6, 2011. Retrieved August 15, 2011.
- Dyson, Roy (February 27, 1990). "Black History Month". Congressional Record — House: 101st Congress, 2nd Session. United States Government Printing Office. 136 (2): 2691. Retrieved September 24, 2018.
- Gilman, Benjamin (February 27, 1990). "Black History Month". Congressional Record — House: 101st Congress, 2nd Session. United States Government Printing Office. 136 (2): 2676. Retrieved September 24, 2018.
- Owens, Major (February 15, 2000). "Black History" (PDF). Congressional Record — House: 106th Congress, 2nd Session. United States Government Printing Office. 146 (14): H431. Retrieved April 14, 2010.
- Wright, Robert L. (Chair) (April 2, 2003). "Introduction: The Near 100 Year Struggle to Build The Museum" (PDF). The Time Has Come: Report to the President and to the Congress: National Museum of African American History Plan For Action Presidential Commission (Final Report). Smithsonian National Museum of African American History. p. 7. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 5, 2017. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
Benjamin Banneker, an African American astronomer, surveyor, and inventor, worked with Andrew Ellicott to play a central role in Pierre L'Enfant's original plan of the nation's capital.
- "Site Evaluation Study: Phase I: Data Gathering Report" (PDF). Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. September 30, 2005. p. 31. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 23, 2015. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
Benjamin Banneker, an African American, worked with Major Andrew Ellicott to play a central role in Pierre L'Enfant's original plan of the Nation's Capital. ... Banneker and Ellicott worked closely with Pierre L'Enfant in the planning of Washington, D.C. When L'Enfant was dismissed from the project and took his plans with him, Banneker recreated the plans from memory.
- (1) Pam105 (September 2016). "NMAAHC statue of Benjamin Banneker, famous scientist, astronomer and author" (photograph). Trip Advisor. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
(2) Wright, Charlie; Pottiger, Maya (Capital News Service) (September 23, 2016). "Slavery and Freedom Galleries". Smithsonian's new museum captures sweep of the African-American experience. WTOP: Washington, DC News. Retrieved November 5, 2017.After walking through the dark hallways, visitors enter an open room, greeted by the Declaration of Independence and statues of notable founders. One statue depicts Benjamin Banneker, an African American born in Baltimore County who was called on to help design Washington, D.C.
(3) Toure88 (Washington, D.C.) (December 19, 2016). "Photo: Benjamin Banneker". "One of the Best": Review of National Museum of African American History and Culture. TripAdvisor. Archived from the original (photograph) on September 12, 2017. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
(4) "Photograph of statue of Benjamin Banneker standing in front of a plan of the City of Washington". Archived from the original on March 12, 2018. in Hairston, Kim (Baltimore Sun). "Maryland's contributions to national African-American museum".A sculpture of Benjamin Banneker is seen near bricks marked with the names of people Thomas Jefferson enslaved in the "Founding of America" exhibit in the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
In Image number 2 of photo gallery in Owens, Donna M. (December 28, 2016). "Marylanders well represented in national African-American museum". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved June 28, 2018."Banneker wrote a farming almanac and sent it to Jefferson as a gift, with a letter about the inhumanity of slavery," said curator Mary Elliott. Jefferson did reply to the inventor, mathematician, astronomer and surveyor, who is credited with helping map the layout of the nation's capital.
(5) Tenighir (February 2017). "Statue of Benjamin Banneker in National Museum of African American History and Culture, Washington, D.C." (photograph). TripAdvisor. Retrieved December 19, 2017. - (1) Wright, Charlie; Pottiger, Maya (Capital News Service) (September 23, 2016). "Slavery and Freedom Galleries". Smithsonian's new museum captures sweep of the African-American experience. WTOP: Washington, DC News. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
After walking through the dark hallways, visitors enter an open room, greeted by the Declaration of Independence and statues of notable founders. One statue depicts Benjamin Banneker, an African American born in Baltimore County who was called on to help design Washington, D.C.
(2) Owens, Donna M. (December 28, 2016). "Marylanders well represented in national African-American museum". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved June 28, 2018."Banneker wrote a farming almanac and sent it to Jefferson as a gift, with a letter about the inhumanity of slavery," said curator Mary Elliott. Jefferson did reply to the inventor, mathematician, astronomer and surveyor, who is credited with helping map the layout of the nation's capital.
- "Benjamin Banneker and the Boundary Stones of the District of Columbia". United States Department of the Interior National Park Service. August 11, 2017. Archived from the original on March 21, 2018. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
Benjamin Banneker was one of the most famous black men in colonial America. He was a farmer, a mathematician, an inventor, an astronomer, a writer, a surveyor, a scientist, and a humanitarian. When he surveyed the city of Washington with Major Pierre Charles L'Enfant, Banneker became one of the first black civil servants of the new nation. Along with a team, Banneker identified the boundaries of the capitol city. They installed intermittent stone markers along the perimeter of the District. .... In 1753, Banneker constructed one of the first entirely wooden clocks in America. .... Banneker's scientific research led him to write one of the first series of almanacs printed in the United States.
- Bedini, 1999, p. 132-136. "An exhaustive search of government repositories, including the Public Buildings and Grounds files in the National Archives, and various collections in the Library of Congress, failed to turn up Banneker's name on any of the contemporary documents or records related to the selection, planning and survey of the City of Washington. Nor was he mentioned in any of the surviving correspondence and papers of Andre Ellicott and of Pierre Charles L'Enfant. .... Although the exact date of Banneker's departure from the survey is not specified in Ellicott's report of expenditures, it occurred sometime late in the month of April 1791, following the arrival of one of Ellicott's brothers. It was not until some ten months after Banneker's departure from the scene that L'Enfant was dismissed, by means of a letter from Jefferson dated February 27, 1792. This conclusively dispels any basis for the legend that after L'Enfant's dismissal and his refusal to make available his plan of the city, Banneker recollected the plan in detail from which Ellicott was able to reconstruct it. Equally untrue and in fact impossible is the legend that Thomas Jefferson as secretary of state invited Banneker to luncheon at the White House. Jefferson during this period was in Philadelphia, the national capital in Washington had yet not been built, and there was no White House."
- Bedini, 1969, pp. 7, 29.
- Stewart, p. 50 Archived April 26, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
- Arnebeck, Bob (January 2, 2017). "Washington Examined: Seat of Empire: the General and the Plan 1790 to 1801". Blogger. Archived from the original on January 29, 2018. Retrieved January 29, 2018.
Meanwhile Andrew Ellicott, the nation's Surveyor General, finished surveying the boundary lines of the federal district, and joined L'Enfant in laying out the city. (Ellicott showed a fine sense of the opportunity presented by the project by hiring a mathematician who was a "free Negro," to help with the survey. The Georgetown newspaper noted the significance of Benjamin Banneker's participation but, nearly sixty years old, he left the arduous project in May and returned to Baltimore to publish his almanac, and thus, contrary to legend, had nothing to do with L'Enfant's plan).
In late August L'Enfant took his completed plan to Philadelphia. The president approved but thought it premature to designate the sites of the other buildings and many monuments that L'Enfant envisioned. - Bedini, 1969, pp. 28-29.
- Kite, Elizabeth S. (1929). L'Enfant and Washington 1791–1792. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Press, reprinted by New York: Arno Press & The New York Times, 1970. ISBN 0405024606. OCLC 128234. Retrieved April 24, 2015 – via Google Books. quoted in "L'Enfant and Washington". Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons (Freemasons). Archived from the original on December 16, 2013. Retrieved March 25, 2013.
- (1) L'Enfant, P.C. (June 22, 1791). To The President of the United States. Georgetown. Archived from the original on November 5, 2013. Retrieved January 31, 2013 – via Google Books. in "L'Enfant's Reports To President Washington Bearing Dates of March 26, June 22, and August 19, 1791". Records of the Columbia Historical Society. Washington, D.C.: Columbia Historical Society. 2: 32–37. 1899.
(2) L'Enfant, P.C. (1899). "L'Enfant's Reports To President Washington Bearing Dates of March 26, June 22, and August 19, 1791". Records of the Columbia Historical Society. 2. Washington, D.C.: Columbia Historical Society. pp. 38–48 – via Google Books.
(3) Stewart, pp. 52-54 Archived April 26, 2016, at the Wayback Machine - Banneker sent his letter denouncing slavery to Thomas Jefferson during the same month (August 1791) in which L'Enfant presented his second plan for the federal city to President Washington. The heading of Banneker's letter identified Banneker's address at the time as "Baltimore County, Maryland, near Ellicotts Lower Mills". Banneker's letter noted that he had made calculations for his 1792 almanac after returning home by stating: "And altho I had almost declined to make my calculation for the ensuing year, in consequence of that time which I had allotted therefor, being taken up at the Federal Territory, by the request of Mr. Andrew Ellicott, ..., on my return to my place of residence, I industriously applied my Self thereto, which I hope I have accomplished with correctness and accuracy; ...". In: Allaben, Frank. Original Document: Banneker's Appeal to Jefferson for Emancipation. The National Magazine: A Journal Devoted To American History: Vol. XVII, November, 1892 — April, 1893. New York: The National History Company. pp. 65–69. Archived from the original on January 30, 2017. Retrieved February 28, 2016 – via Google Books.
- Tindall, pp. 116—117.
- (1) Ellicott, Andrew (February 23, 1792). "To Thomas Johnson, Daniel Carroll and David Stuart, Esqs." In Arnebeck, Bob. "Ellicott's letter to the commissioners on engraving the plan of the city, in which no reference is made to Banneker". The General and the Plan. Bob Arnebeck's Web Pages. Archived from the original on July 8, 2011. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
(2) Letter from Andrew Ellicott to the Commissioners, February 23, 1792 in Tindall, p. 148 Archived April 26, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. - (1) Phillips, Philip Lee (1917). The Beginnings of Washington, As Described in Books, Maps and Views. Washington, D.C.: Published for the author. pp. 29–30. OCLC 420824175. Retrieved December 29, 2016 – via Internet Archive.
(2) Bartlett, Dr. G. Hunter (1922). Frank H. Severance (ed.). "Andrew and Joseph Ellicott: The Plans of Washington City and the Village of Buffalo and Some of the Persons Concerned". Publications of the Buffalo Historical Society: Recalling Pioneer Days. Buffalo, New York: Buffalo Historical Society. 26: 7. Archived from the original on December 29, 2016. Retrieved December 29, 2016 – via Google Books. - Partridge, William T. (1930). L'Enfant's Methods And Features of His Plan For The Federal City. Reports and plans, Washington region: supplementary technical data to accompany annual report: National Capital Planning Commission. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. p. 23. OCLC 15250016. Retrieved December 4, 2016 – via HathiTrust Digital Library.
- "New City of Washington". Gazette of the United States. Philadelphia. January 4, 1792.
The following description is annexed to the Plan of the City of Washington, in the District of Columbia, as sent to Congress by the President some days ago. .....
. In upper right hand corner of: L'Enfant, Peter Charles (1791). "Plan of the city intended for the permanent seat of the government of t(he) United States : projected agreeable to the direction of the President of the United States, in pursuance of an act of Congress passed the sixteenth day of July, MDCCXC, "establishing the permanent seat on the bank of the Potowmac": (Washington, D.C.)". Washington: U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, 1887. Library of Congress. LCCN 88694380. Archived from the original on February 5, 2017. Retrieved January 26, 2016.Description: Photocopy of a facsim. of the 1791 L'Enfant plan. Original facsim. extensively annotated in ink by Lawrence Martin, chief, Division of Maps, Library of Congress. Includes text, indexed "References," and photocopied newspaper article titled "New city of Washington," from the Gazette of the United States, Philadelphia, Jan. 4, 1792.
In Repository of the Library of Congress Geography and Map Division, Washington, D.C. - "1792 engraving of Plan of the City of Washington in the Territory of Columbia by Thackera & Vallance, Philadelphia". Library of Congress. LCCN 88694160. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
- (1) Levine, Michael (November 10, 2003). "L'Enfant designed more than D.C.: He designed a 200-year-old controversy". History: Planning Our Capital City: Get to know the District of Columbia. DCpages.com. Archived from the original on December 6, 2003. Retrieved December 31, 2016.
(2) Brownell, Richard (February 8, 2016). "Benjamin Banneker's Capital Contributions". Boundary Stones: WETA's Local History Blog. Arlington County, Virginia: WETA. Retrieved May 28, 2018. - Partridge, William T. (1930). L'Enfant's Methods And Features of His Plan For The Federal City. Reports and plans, Washington region: supplementary technical data to accompany annual report: National Capital Park and Planning Commission. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. pp. 21–38. OCLC 15250016. Retrieved December 4, 2016 – via HathiTrust Digital Library.
- Bedini, 1999, p. 333: Document 14: "Letter from Andrew Ellicott from Philadelphia to the Commissioners, March 7, 1792".
- Stewart, pp. 55-56 Archived 2013-11-05 at the Wayback Machine
- (1) Bryan, W.B. (1899). "Something About L'Enfant And His Personal Affairs". Records of the Columbia Historical Society. 2: 113. Archived from the original on April 26, 2016 – via Google Books.
(2) The L'Enfant and McMillan Plans Archived 2010-12-09 at the Wayback Machine in "Washington, D.C., A National Register of Historic Places Travel Inventory" Archived 2009-10-10 at the Wayback Machine in official website of the U.S. National Park Service Archived 2009-06-26 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved August 14, 2008-09-14. - (1) Allaben, Frank. Original Document: Banneker's Appeal to Jefferson for Emancipation. The National Magazine: A Journal Devoted To American History: Vol. XVII, November, 1892 — April, 1893. New York: The National History Company. pp. 65–69. Archived from the original on January 30, 2017. Retrieved February 28, 2016 – via Google Books.
And altho I had almost declined to make my calculation for the ensuing year, in consequence of that time which I had allotted therefor, being taken up at the Federal Territory, by the request of Mr. Andrew Ellicott, ..., on my return to my place of residence, I industriously applied my Self thereto, which I hope I have accomplished with correctness and accuracy; ...
(2) ""To Thomas Jefferson from Benjamin Banneker, 19 August 1791" (with editorial notes)". Founders Online: Thomas Jefferson. National Historical Publications & Records Commission: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, last modified December 6, 2016. (Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, vol 22, 6 August 1791 - 31 December 1791, ed. Charles T. Cullen. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1986, pp. 49–54.). August 19, 1791. Archived from the original on December 22, 2016. Retrieved December 22, 2016.
(3) Banneker, Benjamin (1792b). Copy of a letter from Benjamin Banneker to the secretary of state, with his answer. No. 33. North Fourth-Street, near Race, Philadelphia: Daniel Lawrence. LCCN 17022848. OCLC 614046208. Retrieved March 16, 2020 – via Library of Congress.CS1 maint: location (link)- (a) Pages 3–10: Banneker, Benjamin (August 19, 1791). Copy of a letter from Benjamin Banneker, &c. Baltimore County, Maryland.
- (b) Pages 11–12: Jefferson, Thomas (August 30, 1791). To Mr. Benjamin Banneker. Philadelphia.
- Arnebeck, Bob. "Ellicott's letter to the commissioners on engraving the plan of the city, in which no reference is made to Banneker". The General and the Plan. Bob Arnebeck's Web Pages. Archived from the original on July 8, 2011. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
- (1) Jefferson, Thomas (October 8, 1809). Washington, H.A. (1853) (ed.). Correspondence: To Mr Barlow. The Writings of Thomas Jefferson; being his Autobiography, Correspondence, Reports, Messages, Addresses, and Other Writings, Official and Private. Published by the order of the Joint Committee of Congress on the Library, from the original manuscripts, deposited in the Department of State. 5. Washington, D.C.: Taylor & Maury. pp. 475–476. OCLC 924409. Archived from the original on April 29, 2016. Retrieved July 17, 2016 – via Google Books.
(2) ""Thomas Jefferson to Joel Barlow, 8 October 1809 (with editorial notes)". Founders Online: Thomas Jefferson. National Historical Publications & Records Commission: National Archives. Archived from the original on August 31, 2019. Retrieved August 31, 2019. (Original source: Looney, J. Jefferson, ed. (2004). "The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, Retirement Series, vol. 1, 4 March 1809 to 15 November 1809". Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. pp. 588–590. ISBN 9780691184593. LCCN 2004048327. OCLC 1045069067. Retrieved August 31, 2019 – via Google Books.)
(3) Bedini, 1972, pp. 282—283. - (1) Jusserand, p. 184: "Almost on leaving his work at Washington, he (L'Enfant) was asked to draw the plans of the first manufacturing city, devised as such, in the United States, and which today is one of the most important in existence, Paterson, N. J." Archived 2016-01-13 at the Wayback Machine
(2) "Introduction: Project Copy of the Calendar of the S.U.M. Collection of Manuscripts" (PDF). New Jersey Historical Records Survey. Paterson Friends of the Great Falls. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 11, 2015. Retrieved March 11, 2015. - (1) Jusserand, pp. 188-189
(2) Claims of L'Enfant, Peter Charles: 1800-1810. Digested Summary and Alphabetical List of Private Claims which Have Been Presented to the House of Representatives from the First to the Thirty-first Congress: Exhibiting the Action of Congress on Each Claim, with References to the Journals, Reports, Bills, &c., Elucidating Its Progress. 2. Washington, D.C.: United States House of Representatives. 1853. p. 309. Archived from the original on May 18, 2015. Retrieved January 3, 2015 – via Google Books. - Tindall, p. 148 Archived April 26, 2016, at the Wayback Machine "Major L'Enfant's plan contained in the upper left hand corner a title legend giving his name as the author."
- (1) McMillan, James (1902). Moore,Charles (ed.). The Improvement Of The Park System Of The District of Columbia: Report by the United States Congress: Senate Committee on the District of Columbia and District of Columbia Park Commission (Report). Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. Figure No. 61 - "L'Enfant Map of Washington (1791)". No. 166. Retrieved March 21, 2011 – via Google Books.
(2) A copy of an oval in L'Enfant's plan that identifies the plan's author as "Peter Charles L'Enfant" is inscribed several yards west of an inlay of the plan in Freedom Plaza on Pennsylvania Avenue NW, in downtown Washington, D.C. - (1) "Original Plan of Washington, D.C." American Treasures of the Library of Congress: Imagination: Pierre Charles L'Enfant's 1791 "Plan of the city intended for the permanent seat of the government ....": Manuscript map on paper, 1791, Geography & Map Division. Library of Congress. July 29, 2010. Archived from the original on February 5, 2017. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
Selected by Washington to prepare a ground plan for the new city, L'Enfant arrived in Georgetown on March 9, 1791, and submitted his report and plan to the president about August 26, 1791. It is believed that this plan is the one that is preserved in the Library of Congress.
After showing L'Enfant's manuscript to Congress, the president retained custody of the original drawing until December 1796, when he transferred it to the City Commissioners of Washington, D.C. One hundred and twenty-two years later, on November 11, 1918, the map was presented to the Library of Congress for safekeeping.
Note: The plan that this web page describes identifies the plan's author as "Peter Charles L'Enfant". The web page nevertheless identifies the author as "Pierre-Charles L'Enfant."
(2) L'Enfant, Peter Charles; Library of Congress (1991). "Plan of the city intended for the permanent seat of the government of t[he] United States: projected agreeable to the direction of the President of the United States, in pursuance of an act of Congress, passed on the sixteenth day of July, MDCCXC, "establishing the permanent seat on the bank of the Potowmac"". Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress. LCCN 91684074. Archived from the original on March 6, 2017. Retrieved March 5, 2017. Full-color facsimile of Peter Charles L'Enfant's 1791 manuscript plan for the City of Washington. In: Repository of the Library of Congress Geography and Map Division, Washington, D.C.
(3) L'Enfant, Peter Charles; Library of Congress (1991). "Plan of the city intended for the permanent seat of the government of t[he] United States: projected agreeable to the direction of the President of the United States, in pursuance of an act of Congress, passed on the sixteenth day of July, MDCCXC, "establishing the permanent seat on the bank of the Potowmac"". Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress. LCCN 97683585. Archived from the original on March 6, 2017. Retrieved March 5, 2017. Computer-assisted reproduction of Peter Charles L'Enfant's 1791 manuscript plan for the city of Washington, produced by the U.S. Geological Survey for the Library of Congress. In: Repository of the Library of Congress Geography and Map Division, Washington, D.C. - Bedini, 1999, p. 318. "In the two centuries since Banneker's death, his achievements have been forgotten or misrepresented ..... In November 1971, on the anniversary of Banneker's birthday, the secretary of the interior authorized the 10th Street Overlook outside L'Enfant Plaza in Washington to be renamed and dedicated by the mayor as Benjamin Banneker Park. Once again, the reasons presented by the speakers on the occasion and widely reported by the press had been all based on erroneous information: Banneker was hailed for his contribution after L'Enfant was dismissed and Banneker "saved the plan by reconstructing it from memory”."
- "Development of L'Enfant Promenade and Benjamin Banneker Park". Environmental Assessment for Improvements to L'Enfant Promenade and Benjamin Banneker Park (PDF). Washington, D.C.: District Department of Transportation, Government of the District of Columbia (DC.gov) and Eastern Federal Lands Highway Division, Federal Highway Administration, United States Department of Transportation. March 2006. pp. 1–5, 1–6, 1–7. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 16, 2017. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
- Gaines, Patrice (November 15, 1997). "After Reversal of Decline, Banneker Park Rededicated". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 18, 2016. Retrieved November 12, 2017.
The park, originally dedicated in 1971, was named for the man described in speeches yesterday as "the first African American man of science and surveyor of the original City of Washington."
- Kiplinger, Austin H.; Washington, Walter E. (May 7, 2000). "A Museum to Call Our Own". Close to Home. Washington, D.C.: The Washington Post. p. B.8. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
The City Museum, for example, will remind visitors about how George Washington engaged Pierre L'Enfant to map the city and about how Benjamin Banneker brought his mathematical expertise to complete the project.
- Berne, Bernard H. (May 20, 2000). "District History Lesson". Letters to the Editor. Washington, D.C.: The Washington Post. p. A.22. Retrieved March 23, 2011.
Austin H. Kiplinger and Walter E. Washington write that a proposed city museum at Mount Vernon Square will remind visitors that "George Washington engaged Pierre L' Enfant to map the city and about how Benjamin Banneker [helped] complete the project" [Close to Home, May 7]. Let's hope not.
Benjamin Banneker performed astronomical observations in 1791 when assisting Maj. Andrew Ellicott in a survey of the federal District's boundaries. He departed three months after the survey began, more than a year before its completion.
Meanwhile, a "Plan for the City of Washington" was drawn by one "Peter Charles L'Enfant" (sic). When George Washington chose to dismiss L'Enfant, it was Ellicott who revised L'Enfant's plan and completed the city's mapping. Banneker played no part in this. - Baker, Henry E. (April 1918). Carter G. Woodson (ed.). "Benjamin Banneker, the Negro Mathematician and Astronomer". The Journal of Negro History. Lancaster, PA. and Washington, D.C.: The Association for the Study of Negro Life and History. III (2): 111–112. doi:10.2307/2713484. Archived from the original on December 24, 2016. Retrieved December 28, 2011 – via Google Books.
It is on record that it was at the suggestion of his friend, Major Andrew Ellicott, who so thoroughly appreciated the value of his scientific attainments, that Thomas Jefferson nominated Banneker and Washington appointed him a member of the commission to define the boundary line and lay out the streets of the Federal Territory, later called the District of Columbia. This Commission, was appointed by Washington, in 1879, and was composed of David Stuart, Daniel Carrol, Thomas Johnson, Andrew Ellicott and Pierre Charles L'Enfant, a famous French engineer.
- Franklin, John Hope (1947). From Slavery to Freedom: A History of American Negroes (First ed.). New York: Alfred A. Knopf. p. 157. LCCN 47031171. OCLC 558185337. Archived from the original on October 15, 2019. Retrieved October 15, 2019 – via Google Books.
The most distinguished honor that Banneker received was his appointment to serve with the commission to define the boundary line and lay out the streets of the District of Columbia. It was perhaps at the suggestion of his friend George Ellicott, himself a member of the commission, that Banneker's name was submitted .....
- Caughey, John Walton; Franklin, John Hope; May, Ernest R. (1966). Land of the Free: A History of the United States. New York: Benziger Brothers. pp. 192–193. LCCN 66012962. OCLC 654547410. Archived from the original on October 15, 2019. Retrieved October 15, 2019 – via Google Books.
.... . The third member was a Quaker businessman and scientist, George Ellicott. L'Enfant, Banneker and Ellicott drew up plans for a city that was greater than Rome, Paris, or London.
- Bedini, 1972, p. 403, reference number 84: "John W. Caughey, John Hope Franklin, Ernest R. May, Land of the Free, A History of the United States, New York, Bensinger Brothers, 1966, pp. 192—193.: Includes a brief and inaccurate mention of the survey of the Federal City, claiming that the Commissioners for the survey were Pierre L'Enfant, Benjamin Banneker, and George Ellicott."
- Franklin, John Hope; Moss, Alfred A., Jr. (2000). From Slavery to Freedom: A History of African Americans (Eighth ed.). New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 0375406719. LCCN 2005299886. OCLC 654597580 – via Google Books.:
(1) p. 109 "The most distinguished honor that Banneker received was his appointment to serve with the commission to define the boundary line and lay out the streets of the District of Columbia. .... "
(2) p. 110 "Banneker, perhaps the most accomplished black in the early national period, .... served on the commission to define the boundary line and lay out the streets of the District of Columbia." - Bedini, 1999, p. 113.
- Question 4 in "Black Achievement in American History: Blackline Master 2A Quiz: Program Two: Emergence of the Black Hero" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on February 17, 2013. Based on Avery, James (April 2005). "A History of Black Achievement in America". DVD No. 1, Program Two: "Emergence of the Black Hero": "1791 - The First Black Man of Science, Benjamin Banneker, Surveys Washington, D.C.". Ambrose Video Publishing, Inc. Archived from the original on June 9, 2018. Retrieved June 9, 2018.
- "Text of Residence Act". American Memory: A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774 - 1875: Statutes at Large, 1st Congress, 2nd Session, p. 130, July 16, 1790: Chapter 28: "An Act for establishing the temporary and permanent seat of the Government of the United States". Library of Congress. Archived from the original on September 13, 2009. Retrieved June 9, 2018.
- Mathews, Catherine Van Cortlandt (1908). Andrew Ellicott: His Life and Letters. New York: Grafton Press. p. 83. Retrieved April 24, 2015 – via Internet Archive.
- (1) Crew, pp. 87-88 Archived June 22, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
(2) Hazelton, George Cochrane (1914). The National Capitol: its architecture, art, and history. New York: J.F. Taylor & Company. pp. 2–3. Retrieved April 24, 2015 – via Internet Archive. - "Text of Residence Act". American Memory: A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774 - 1875: Statutes at Large, 1st Congress, 2nd Session, p. 130, July 16, 1790: Chapter 28: "An Act for establishing the temporary and permanent seat of the Government of the United States". Library of Congress. p. 130. Archived from the original on September 13, 2009. Retrieved June 9, 2018.
Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That the President of the United States be authorized to appoint, and by supplying vacancies happening from refusals to act or any other causes, to keep in appointment as long as may be necessary, three commissioners, who, or any two of whom, shall, under the direction of the President, survey, and by proper metes and bounds define and limit a district of territory, .....
- Bedini, 1972, p. 126. "Benjamin Banneker's name does not appear on any of the contemporary documents or records relating to the selection, planning, and survey of the City of Washington. An exhaustive search of the files under Public Buildings and Grounds in the U.S. National Archives and of the several collections in the Library of Congress have proved fruitless. A careful perusal of all known surviving correspondence and papers of Andrew Ellicott and of Pierre Charles L'Enfant has likewise failed to reveal mention of Banneker. This conclusively dispels the legend that after L'Enfant's dismissal and his refusal to make available his plan of the city, Ellicott was able to reconstruct it in detail from Banneker's recollection."
- (1) Corrigan, p. 3. "Washington hired Ellicott and presumably was aware of Banneker's work, though Cerami uncovered no documentary evidence of their encounter."
(2) Cerami, 2002, p. 135. "No account mentions actual encounters between Banneker and the President (Washington)." - Tindall, p. 151
- Leach, Sara Amy; Barthold, Elizabeth, HABS/HAER, NPS (July 20, 1994). "L' Enfant Plan of the City of Washington, District of Columbia" (PDF). United States Department of the Interior: National Park Service: National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Section 8, p. 7. National Park Service. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 5, 2017. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
Forty boundary stones, laid at one-mile intervals, established the boundaries based on celestial calculations by Banneker, a self-taught astronomer of African descent and one of few free blacks living in the vicinity. Within this 100-square-mile diamond, which would become the District of Columbia, a smaller area was laid out as the City of Washington.
- "Site Evaluation Study: Phase I: Data Gathering Report" (PDF). Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. September 30, 2005. p. 31. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 23, 2015. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
He (Banneker) was a self-taught mathematician and astronomer, and one of the few free blacks living in the vicinity. Banneker assisted Major Ellicott in laying out forty boundary stones, at one-mile intervals, based on celestial calculations, to establish the boundaries of the District of Columbia.
- Robinson and Associates, Washington, D.C. (July 2007). "Historic Preservation Report For the National Museum Of African American History and Culture: District of Columbia: Final Report: Prepared For: Smithsonian Institution Office of Planning and Project Management" (PDF). p. 11. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 4, 2015. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
Emplacements of the 40 stones were based on celestial calculations by Banneker, a self-taught astronomer and mathematician of African descent and one of few free blacks living in the vicinity.
CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - Carr, Penny (November 10, 2012). "DAR, Scouts Protect Historic Boundary Stone". Falls Church Times: Falls Church City's Online Community Newspaper. Archived from the original on November 27, 2012.
In its path through the Washington D.C. Metro area, the derecho dropped massive limbs, power lines and trees on houses and streets. It also dropped a massive limb on the Westernmost Boundary Marker of the original D.C. boundary – the "Ellicott Stone." This stone was put in place by Mr. Andres Ellicott and Mr. Benjamin Banneker in 1791. Today it sits on the boundary line of Falls Church City, Fairfax County, and Arlington County.
- Fortier, Alison (May 6, 2014). The Original Boundary Markers. A History Lover's Guide to Washington, D.C.: Designed for Democracy. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing: The History Press. p. 24. ISBN 9781625850645. LCCN 2014011085. OCLC 879612020. Retrieved January 28, 2018 – via Google Books.
- Harris, Hamil R. (May 8, 2015). "200-year-old boundary markers in D.C. rededicated". Local. The Washington Post. Archived from the original on May 10, 2015. Retrieved April 1, 2016.
These stones are our nation's oldest national landmarks that were placed by Andrew Ellicott and Benjamin Banneker," said Sharon K. Thorne-Sulima, regent for the Martha Washington chapter of the D.C. Daughters of the American Revolution. "They officially laid the seat of government of our new nation.
- Harris, Hamil R. (May 30, 2015). "Stones laid by Benjamin Banneker in the 1790s are still standing". Local. The Washington Post. Archived from the original on May 31, 2015. Retrieved April 1, 2016.
- "Boundary Stones of the District of Columbia". boundarystones.org. Archived from the original on June 30, 2015. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
Ellicott, a prominent professional surveyor, hired Benjamin Banneker, an astronomer and mathematician from Maryland, to make the astronomical observations and calculations necessary to establish the south corner of the square at Jones Point in Alexandria. According to legend, "Banneker fixed the position of the first stone by lying on his back to find the exact starting point for the survey ... and plotting six stars as they crossed his spot at a particular time of night." On April 15, 1791, the Alexandria Masonic Lodge placed a small stone at the south corner at Jones Point in ceremonies attended by Ellicott, federal district commissioners Daniel Carroll and David Stuart, and other dignitaries. .... Ellicott's team, minus Banneker, who left after the placement of the south stone, then began the formal survey by clearing twenty feet of land on both sides of each boundary and placing other stones, made of Aquia Creek sandstone, at one-mile intervals.
- RossEmery (June 1, 2015). "Comment". Stones laid by Benjamin Banneker in the 1790s are still standing. The Washington Post. Archived from the original on August 2, 2015. Retrieved April 1, 2016.
"Stones laid by Benjamin Banneker in the 1790s are still standing" Actually: Ellicott, a prominent professional surveyor, hired Benjamin Banneker, an astronomer and mathematician from Maryland, to make the astronomical observations and calculations necessary to establish the south corner of the square at Jones Point in Alexandria. According to legend, "Banneker fixed the position of the first stone by lying on his back to find the exact starting point for the survey ... and plotting six stars as they crossed his spot at a particular time of night." From there, Ellicott's team (minus Banneker, who worked only on the south corner) embarked on a forty mile journey, surveying ten-mile lines first to the northwest, then the northeast, next southeast, and finally southwest back toward the starting point, clearing twenty feet of land on each side of the boundary. http://www.boundarystones.org
- Bedini 1969, pp. 25–29.
- Mackintosh, Barry, Regional Historian, National Capital Region, National Park Service, Washington, D.C. (January 24, 1980). "Jones Point Lighthouse and District of Columbia South Cornerstone" (PDF). United States Department of the Interior: National Park Service: National Register of Historic Places Inventory — Nomination Form for Federal Properties. United States Department of the Interior: National Park Service: Sheet #2: Statement of Significance. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 5, 2016. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
The Alexandria Masonic Lodge placed a stone at the south corner on April 15, 1791, in ceremonies attended by Ellicott, federal district commissioners Daniel Carroll and David Stuart, and other dignitaries. Other stones were subsequently placed at approximately one-mile intervals along the District boundary with Virginia and along the District-Maryland line in 1792. In 1794 a permanent south cornerstone replaced that laid originally; ...
- Bedini, 1972, p. 103.
- Clark, Charlie (February 17, 2016). "Our Man in Arlington". Falls Church News-Press. Archived from the original on February 19, 2016. Retrieved April 1, 2016.
Our enclave's earliest landmark is the District of Columbia boundary stone placed in 1791 by Benjamin Banneker.
- Liebertz, John (2016). Boundary Markers of the District of Columbia: Benjamin Banneker (PDF). A Guide to the African American Heritage of Arlington County (2nd ed.). Historic Preservation Program: Department of Community Planning, Housing and Development, Government of Arlington County, Virginia. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 7, 2016. Retrieved October 7, 2016.
A free, self-taught African American astronomer and mathematician, Benjamin Banneker assisted Andrew Ellicott on the original survey of the District of Columbia from February to April 1791. Ellicott retained Banneker to make astronomical observations and calculations to establish the location of the south cornerstone of the 10-mile square. On April 15, 1791, officials dedicated the first boundary stone based on Banneker's calculations.
- Washington, George. John C. Fitzpatrick (ed.). Proclamation: Georgetown, March 30, 1791. The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources: 1745-1799. 31: January 22, 1790—March 9, 1792. Washington: United States Government Printing Office (August, 1939). Retrieved October 7, 2016 – via Google Books.
Now therefore for the purposes of amending and completing the location of the whole of the said territory of the ten miles square in conformity with the said amendatory act of Congress, I do hereby declare and make known that the whole of said territory shall be located and included within the four lines following, that is to say: Beginning at Jones's point, the upper cape of Hunting Creek in Virginia, and at an angle in the outset of 45 degrees west of the north: ...
. - (1) Bedini 1969, pp. 25–29.
(2) "New Federal City" (PDF). Columbian Centennial (744). Boston, Massachusetts: Benjamin Russell. May 7, 1791. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 30, 2016. Retrieved October 9, 2016 – via boundarystones.org.When Mr. Ellicott had ascertained the precise point from which the line of the district was to proceed, the Master of the Lodge and Dr. Stewart, assisted by others of their brethren placed the stone; ...
- Semmes, John E. (October 1917). Chapter 6: African Colonization. John H. B. Latrobe and His Times. Baltimore, Maryland: The Norman, Remington Company. pp. 139–171. LCCN 18002814. OCLC 262462816. Retrieved March 22, 2019 – via HathiTrust Digital Library.
- Latrobe
- Latrobe, p. 7.
- Conway, pp. 79—84.
- Conway, p. 81.
- Conway, p. 84.
- "Most widely held works by Lydia Maria Child". Child, Lydia Maria 1802-1880. WorldCat. Archived from the original on May 29, 2018. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
Published in 1865 and edited by abolitionist L. Maria Child, The Freedmens Book was intended to be used to teach recently freed African Americans to read and to provide them with inspiration. Thirsting for education, Freedmen were eagerly enrolling in any schools that would accept them. Child saw a need for texts and provided one of collected stories and poems written by former slaves and noted abolitionists, herself included.
- Child, p. 15. "At thirty years old, he made a clock, which proved to be an excellent time piece. .... This was the first clock ever made in this country."
- Jefferson, Karen L. (June 1980). "Kelly Miller Papers: Collection 71-1 to 71-8". Digital Howard @ Howard University. Washington, D.C.: Manuscript Division, Howard University. Archived from the original on February 20, 2020. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
- Miller, Kelly (1902). Chapter XVI. The Education of the Negro: X. Negroes who have achieved Distinction along Lines calling for Definite Intellectual Activity. Report of the Commissioner of Education for the Year 1900-1901. 1. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. p. 856. Retrieved March 23, 2020 – via Google Books.
- Note: Phillip Lee Phillips (1857-1924) was the first Superintendent of Maps for the Library of Congress, where he devoted over thirty years to the development of the Library's map and atlas collection. See:
(1) "Philip Lee Phillips Society Programs and Activities" (PDF). Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress Geography and Map Division. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 9, 2013. Retrieved April 6, 2015.
(2) "Philip Lee Phillips Map Society: The Friends Group of the Geography and Map Division: Library of Congress" (PDF). Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress Geography and Map Division. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 6, 2015. Retrieved April 6, 2015.
(3) Seavey, Charles A. (1993). "Philip Lee Phillips and the growth of the library of Congress map collection, 1897–1924". Government Publications Review. Elsevier. 20 (3): 283–295. doi:10.1016/0277-9390(93)90004-9. ISSN 0277-9390. OCLC 4656134177. - Phillips, P. Lee (1917). "The Negro, Benjamin Banneker; Astronomer and Mathematician, Plea for Universal Peace (Read before the Society, April 18, 1916)". Records of the Columbia Historical Society. Columbia Historical Society, Washington, D.C. 20: 120. ISSN 0897-9049. OCLC 1564221. Retrieved April 15, 2009 – via Google Books.
- Woodson, 1919, p. 91. "Although he had never seen a clock, watches being the only timepieces in the vicinity, he made in 1770 the first clock manufactured in the United States, thereby attracting the attention of the scientific world."
- Salo, Jessica (June 11, 2008). "Benjamin Griffith Brawley (1882-1939)". BlackPast. BlackPast.org. Archived from the original on April 11, 2020. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
- Brawley, Benjamin (1921). Chapter III: The Revolutionary Era. A Social History of the American Negro, Being a History of the Negro Problem in the United States, Including a History and Study of the Republic of Liberia. New York: The Macmillan Company. p. 75. OCLC 271206977. Retrieved April 11, 2020 – via HathiTrust.
- "Howard U Gets Memorial to Benjamin Banneker" (PDF). Chicago, Illinois: The Chicago Defender (National edition). ProQuest Historical Newspapers. February 16, 1929. p. A1. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 9, 2017. Retrieved November 9, 2017 – via The Pearl of Omega.
It was also noted that Banneker made the first clock used in America which was constructed of all American materials.
- Katz, William Loren (1974). Eyewitness: The Negro in American History. New York: Pitman Publishing Corporation. p. 30. LCCN 67010838. OCLC 558242071. Archived from the original on October 14, 2019. Retrieved October 14, 2019 – via Google Books.
..., Banneker began his studies as a teenager. Using crude tools, he constructed a clock, the first one made entirely with American parts.
- Graham, 1949, Chapter VI: ---- A Flaming Sight in the Heavens, p. 86. "There are accounts which say that Benjamin Banneker made the first clock constructed in America. Such stories are no doubt carelessly written. .... However, it is probably quite safe to say that Benjamin Banneker made the first clock in Maryland or perhaps in the southern Atlantic colonies. This at least is what was said about him in his own day."
- Lewis, C. L. (February 1966). "Benjamin Banneker: The Man Who Saved Washington, D. C." Negro Digest: Negro History Issue. Chicago, Illinois: Johnson Publishing Company, Inc. 15 (4): 20. Retrieved February 17, 2019 – via Google Books.
At the age of 21, with knowledge gained from taking apart a watch, he (Banneker) perfected the first clock in Maryland, possibly in America. - Lindenmeyer, Otto J. (1970). Black History: Lost, Stolen or Strayed. "Of Black America" series. New York: Avon Books. p. 43. OCLC 755240778. Retrieved March 14, 2019 – via Google Books.
At an early age, for example, he (Banneker) used a small watch as a model for his own mechanical clock and constructed its frame and its movements entirely of wood, the first such instrument made in America. - Haber, Louis (1970). Banjamin Banneker: 1731—1806. Black Pioneers of Science and Invention (First Oddssey Classics (1992) ed.). Harcourt. pp. 5–6. ISBN 9780152085667. LCCN 91008923. OCLC 1024156094. Retrieved March 15, 2019 – via Google Books.
For two years Banneker spent all his spare time working on the clock. He built it entirely of wood and carved each of the gears by hand. By 1753 it was completed. It was the first clock ever built in the United States. The clock kept perfect time, striking every hour four more than 40 years. People came from all over the country to see his clock. It created a sensation. - Haber, Louis (1970). Preface. Black Pioneers of Science and Invention (First Oddssey Classics (1992) ed.). Harcourt. p. vii. ISBN 9780152085667. LCCN 91008923. OCLC 1024156094. Retrieved March 15, 2019 – via Google Books.
The author began research into this area many years ago. His objective was to gather resource materials that could then be incorporated into science curricula at elementary and secondary schools as well as at the college level. In 1966 he was given a grant by the U.S. Office of Education to pursue this study. - Graves, Lynne Gomez, Historical Projects Director, Afro-American Bicentennial Corporation, Washington, D.C (February 3, 1976). "Benjamin Banneker: SW-9 Intermediate Boundary Stone (milestone) of the District of Columbia" (PDF). United States Department of the Interior: National Park Service: National Register of Historic Places Inventory––Nomination Form. Richmond, Virginia: Virginia Department of Historic Resources. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 1, 2016. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
He (Banneker) was a farmer, a mathematician, an inventor, an astronomer, a writer, a surveyor, a scientist, and a humanitarian. .... Banneker's ability as a mathematician enabled him to construct what is believed to have been the first working wooden clock in America in 1753.
- Oliver, Elizabeth M. (December 9, 1978). "Ossie Davis Stars as Benjamin Banneker". Baltimore Afro-American. Baltimore, Maryland. p. 36. Retrieved February 15, 2019 – via Google News.
Before his death in 1806, Banneker had gained fame in America, France and England as a scientist, astronomer inventor of the first clock ..... .
- "Image and United States Postal Service description of Benjamin Banneker postage stamp". Archived from the original on August 18, 2015.
The U.S. Postal Service issued a stamp in 1980 with this description: "Benjamin Banneker first achieved national recognition for his scientific work in the 1791 survey of the Federal Territory ... In 1773, he built the first watch made in America ..."
In Glawe, Eddie (February 13, 2014). "Feature: Benjamin Banneker". Professional Surveyor Magazine. Flatdog Media, Inc. 39 (6). Archived from the original on January 30, 2017. Retrieved February 18, 2018 – via xyHt. - Diversity Development (January 2004). "Benjamin Banneker" (PDF). Publication 354: African Americans on Stamps: A Celebration of African-American Heritage. Washington, D.C.: United States Postal Service. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 24, 2014. Retrieved March 14, 2015.
A self-taught mathematician and astronomer, Benjamin Banneker was probably the most accomplished African American of America's colonial period. In 1753, he constructed the first wooden striking clock made in America. His studies and calculations in astronomy allowed him to successfully predict a solar eclipse in 1789 and to publish farmer's almanacs in the 1790s. In 1791 he helped design and survey the city of Washington, D.C. This stamp was issued February 15, 1980.
- "Early Pioneers". Arago: People, Postage & The Post (Exhibits). Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian National Postal Museum. Archived from the original on January 8, 2018. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
A self-taught mathematician and astronomer, Benjamin Banneker was probably the most accomplished African American of America's colonial period. In 1753, he constructed the first wooden striking clock made in America. His studies and calculations in astronomy allowed him to successfully predict a solar eclipse in 1789 and to publish farmer's almanacs in the 1790s. In 1791 he helped design and survey the city of Washington, D.C.
- "History". Banneker-Douglass Museum. Government of Maryland. Archived from the original on March 14, 2015. Retrieved March 14, 2015.
- Prophet, Matthew W. (Spring 1987). "Preface to the African/African-American Baseline Essays" (PDF). Portland Public Schools. Retrieved September 17, 2018.
- Adams, Hunter Havelin, III (1986). "Geocultural Baseline Essay Series: African and African-American Contributions to Science and Technology" (PDF). Patents, Inventions, and Contributions: Benjamin Banneker. Portland Public Schools. p. S-74. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 23, 2017. Retrieved September 17, 2018.
- Martel, Erich (December 1991). "How Valid Are the Portland Baseline Essays?" (PDF). Educational Leadership. Alexandria, Virginia: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD). Retrieved September 18, 2019.
- Martel, Erich (February 20, 1994). "The Egyptian Illusion". Opinions. The Washington Post. Retrieved September 17, 2018.
Teachers who want reliable information on African American history often don't know where to turn. Many have unfortunately looked to unreliable books and publications by Afrocentric writers. The African American Baseline Essays, developed by the public school system in Portland, Ore., are the most widespread Afrocentric teaching material. Educators should be aware of their crippling flaws. ....
"Thomas Jefferson appointed Benjamin Banneker to survey the site for the capital, Washington, D.C." and Banneker "wrote a proposal for the establishment of a United States Department of Peace," according to the essay on African American scientists.
Had the author consulted "The Life of Benjamin Banneker" by Silvio Bedini, considered the definitive biography, he would have discovered no evidence for these claims. Jefferson appointed Andrew Ellicott to conduct the survey; Ellicott made Banneker his assistant for three months in 1791. Benjamin Rush authored the Department of Peace proposal; the confusion arose among earlier biographers because the proposal appeared in Banneker's 1793 almanac. - "Benjamin Banneker: Invented America's First Clock". Famous Black Inventors. 2008. Archived from the original on February 5, 2009. Retrieved March 29, 2019.
- (1) Potter, Joan; Claytor, Constance (1994). Who Made the First Clock in the American Colonies and was the First African-American To Publish an Almanac?. African-American Firsts: Famous, Little-Known and Unsung Triumphs of Blacks in America. Elizabethtown, New York: Pinto Press. p. 232. ISBN 0963247611. LCCN 93084716. OCLC 654686287. Archived from the original on December 14, 2018. Retrieved December 14, 2018 – via Internet Archive.
At the age of twenty-three, assisted only by a picture of a clock, an English journal, and a geometry book, he (Banneker) designed and built the first clock in the colonies.
(2) Potter, Joan (2014). Who Made the First Clock in the American Colonies and was the First African American To Publish an Almanac?. African American Firsts: Famous, Little-Known and Unsung Triumphs of Blacks in America. New York: Dafina Books, Kensington Publishing Corporation. p. 334. ISBN 9780758292421. LCCN 2013388865. OCLC 864822516. Archived from the original on December 14, 2018. Retrieved December 14, 2018 – via Google Books.At the age of twenty-two, using a pocket watch as a guide, he (Banneker) designed and built the first clock in the colonies.
- Alcorn, Jr., George Edward (March 2009). "A Salute to African American Inventors" (PDF). The Lincoln Echo. 17 (1). Fort Smith, Arkansas: Napoleon Black. p. 7. Retrieved April 13, 2019 – via Boreham Library, University of Arkansas–Fort Smith.
In 1753, he (Banneker) built one of the first watches made in America, a wooden pocket watch.
- Bellis, Mary (updated January 30, 2020). "Biography of Benjamin Banneker, Author and Naturalist". ThoughtCo. New York: Dotdash. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
In 1753, he (Banneker) built one of the first watches made in America, a wooden pocket watch.
Archived June 4, 2020, at the Wayback Machine. - Danilov, Victor J. (2013). "Scientists/Engineers/Inventors". Benjamin Banneker. Famous Americans: A Directory of Museums, Historic Sites, and Memorials. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield: The Scarecrow Press, Inc. p. 341. ISBN 9780810891869. LCCN 2013011098. OCLC 860710792.
He (Banneker) became known for such accomplishments as building one of the first watches in America, ....
- Kamen, Al; Itkowitz, Colby (February 5, 2015). "No sights to see". John Kerry gets dissed on scholars' list. The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 5, 2017. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
A memorial for Banneker, an African American inventor, was approved in 1998, and a location was chosen at the L'Enfant Promenade in Southwest Washington, but its authorization expired in 2005.
- (1) Latrobe, p. 7.
(2) Tyson, p. 5.
(3) Phillips, P. Lee (1917). "The Negro, Benjamin Banneker; Astronomer and Mathematician, Plea for Universal Peace (Read before the Society, April 18, 1916)". Records of the Columbia Historical Society. Columbia Historical Society, Washington, D.C. 20: 120. ISSN 0897-9049. OCLC 1564221. Retrieved April 15, 2009 – via Google Books.
(4) Bedini, 1999, pp. 42—44.
(5) Hurry, Robert J. (2007). Hockey, Thomas (ed.). Banneker, Benjamin. Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers. New York: Springer. pp. 91–92. ISBN 9780387310220. OCLC 65764986. Archived from the original on June 7, 2015. Retrieved January 24, 2015 – via Google Books.
(5) Bedini, 2008. Archived 2016-02-03 at the Wayback Machine - (1) Bedini, 1972, pp. 44—46. "Timepieces were well known and available from the very earliest English settlements, .... A number of watch- and clockmakers were already established in Maryland prior to the time that Banneker made his clock. In Annapolis alone there were at least four such craftsmen prior to 1750."
(2) Bedini, 1999, pp. 43—44.. "Banneker's clock was by no means the first timepiece in tidewater Maryland, as occasionally has erroneously been claimed. Timepieces were well known and available from the very earliest English settlements, .... A number of watch- and clockmakers were already established in Maryland prior to the time that Banneker made his clock. In Annapolis alone there were at least four such craftsmen prior to 1750." - Tyson, pp. 5, 9—10, 18.
- Bedini, 1972, p. 45. "Completed in 1753, Bannekers' clock continued to operate until his death, more than 50 years later."
- Bailey, Chris H. (1975). Two Hundred Years of American Clocks & Watches. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc. p. 73. ISBN 0139351302. LCCN 75013714. OCLC 756413530. Retrieved March 29, 2019 – via Google Books.
Of his own design, the clock employed wooden gears and was apparently used until it was destroyed by the fire that consumed Banneker's home while his funeral was in progress in October, 1806
- Tyson, p. 18.
- Uselding, Paul (2003). "Clock and Watch Industry". Dictionary of American History. The Gale Group Inc. Archived from the original on May 13, 2016. Retrieved May 31, 2017 – via Encyclopedia.com.
The first clockmaker of record in America was Thomas Nash, an early settler of New Haven in 1638. Throughout the seventeenth century, eight-day striking clocks with brass movements, similar to those made in England, were produced by craft methods in several towns and villages in Connecticut. .... By 1745 Benjamin Cheney of East Hartford was producing wooden clocks, and there is some evidence that these clocks were being made as early as 1715 near New Haven.
- Moore, N. Hudson (1911). American Clocks and Clockmakers. The Old Clock Book. New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company. pp. 91–92. LCCN 11029009. OCLC 680744401. Retrieved February 23, 2019 – via Google Books.
- Safford, Frances Gruber; Heckscher, Morrison H.; Rogers, Mary-Alice; Metropolitan Museum of Art (1985). 187. Tall Clock: Boston, 1725-1740: Movement by Benjamin Bagnall (1689-1773). American furniture in the Metropolitan Museum of Art: 1, Late Colonial Period: The Queen Anne and Chippendale Styles. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Random House. pp. 290–291. ISBN 9780300116472. OCLC 11971332 – via Google Books.
The movement is an eight-day rack and snail striking clock with anchor-recoil escapement.
- (1) "Benjamin Bagnall, Sr., Boston, Massachusetts, 1730-1745: Tall case clock". Guide To The Collection. Dallas, Texas: Dallas Museum of Art. February 8, 2012. Retrieved January 2, 2019 – via issuu.
This eight-day striking clock closely follows English design ...
(2) "Tall Case Clock". Collections. Dallas, Texas: Dallas Museum of Art. Retrieved January 2, 2019.MAKER: Benjamin Bagnall Sr. (British, active in Boston, Massachusetts, America, 1689 - 1773): DATE: 1730–1745: MATERIAL AND TECHNIQUE: Walnut, maple, beech, cedar, brass, glass, and paint .... This tall case clock is among the very first of its type made entirely in America and one of only four existing examples by clockmaker Benjamin Bagnall. Rather than fit British works into a colonial cabinet, which was typical considering the cost and complexity of the mechanical components, Bagnall created the works himself with parts acquired from fellow Bostonians. He then installed them in an elegant walnut cabinet created by a local cabinetmaker.
Note: Slideshow contains enlargeable high-resolution images of the clock's parts, gears and striking mechanism. - Gottshall, Franklin H. (1971). Making Antique Furniture Reproductions: Instructions and Measured Drawings for 40 Classic Projects. New York: Dover Publications. p. 101. ISBN 9780486161648. LCCN 93048643. OCLC 829166996. Retrieved February 23, 2019 – via Google Books.
Before the eighteenth century, when metal was harder to come by in the colonies than wood, which was in plentiful supply, works for many of these clocks were made of wood, including the gears, which were whittled and fashioned by hand, as indeed were all other parts.
- Bedini, 1964: Instruments of Wood: The Use of Wood, pp. 66-69. Archived 2015-04-08 at the Wayback Machine "Wooden clocks were made as early as the 17th century in Germany and Holland, and they were known in England in the early 18th century. In the Colonies the wooden clock was first produced in Connecticut, and the earliest type was associated with Hartford County. ...."
- (1) Federal Writers Project of the Works Progress Administration for the State of Connecticut (1938). Industry and Commerce. Connecticut: A Guide to Its Roads, Lore and People. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. p. 59. OCLC 905140234. Archived from the original on February 3, 2016 – via Google Books.
Benjamin Cheney produced wooden clocks about 1745, in a small back-yard shop at East Hartford.
(2) Zea, Phillip M. (1986). "Timekeeping: The Lifestyle of Accuracy--An Interpretive Essay for the J. Cheney Wells Collection of New England Clocks at Old Sturbridge Village". Sturbridge, Massachusetts: Old Sturbridge Village. Archived from the original on April 9, 2015. Retrieved April 9, 2015.In inland New England, the demand to know the time also increased, and clockmakers devised ways to lower the cost of expensive-looking clocks in order to make them available to more households. Following the lead of Seth Youngs in Hartford, Benjamin Cheney, Jr. (1725-1815) and his brother, Timothy (1731-1795), of East Hartford began offering their customers options in timekeeping. About 1750, they started making clocks, with striking trains, that were largely constructed of oak, cherry, and maple and ran for thirty hours.
(3) Images and description of face and wooden movement of striking clock constructed by Benjamin Cheney around 1760 on exhibit in 2015 in Clock Gallery of Old Sturbridge Village:
(a) "Image of face of clock". Archived from the original on March 23, 2019. Retrieved March 23, 2019.
(b) "Image of gears and striking mechanism of clock". Archived from the original on February 14, 2016. Retrieved March 23, 2019.
In "Collection No.57.1.117: Tall Case Clock by Benjamin Cheney, Hartford, Connecticut, c. 1760". Sturbridge, Massachusetts: Old Sturbridge Village. Archived from the original on April 2, 2016. Retrieved April 10, 2015.Description: This movement for a tall case clock was made by Benjamin Cheney in Hartford, Connecticut. The wooden, weight-powered, thirty-hour movement with count wheel strike has a recoil escapement. The dial plate is a thin brass sheet with cast brass spandrels, silvered brass chapter ring, second's bit, calendar ring and name boss all attached to a pine board. "Benjamin Cheney" is engraved on the name boss. ... Materials: Works: chestnut plates, cherry wheels; maple arbors and pinions; brass. Case: Primary wood is walnut; secondary wood: white pine.
(4) Zea, Philip. "Diversity and Regionalism in Rural New England". Chipstone Foundation. Archived from the original on April 9, 2015. Retrieved April 9, 2015.Benjamin Cheney, Jr. (1725–1815) and Timothy Cheney (1731–1795) began making clocks in East Hartford, Connecticut, about 1750. ... Perhaps because their father was a joiner, they developed the concept of offering options in clocks to expand their clientele: thirty-hour wooden movements as well as more expensive, eight-day, brass clocks. .... Two centuries later, these clocks are usually rejected by collectors on the basis of quality, although the ingenious wooden mechanism and the marketing concept behind it were among the more sophisticated ideas afoot in the marketplace of eighteenth-century New England.
- (1) Lock, Jeffrey D. (December 2001). "Feature: Construction Details of Rittenhouse Compasses". Professional Surveyor Magazine. Frederick, Maryland: Professional Surveyors Publishing Company. ISSN 0278-1425. LCCN 82643590. OCLC 1043615987. Archived from the original on February 22, 2019. Retrieved February 22, 2019 – via Flatdog Media, Inc.
David Rittenhouse was born April 8, 1732 in Roxborough Township, Philadelphia County. Around the age of 17 he constructed a clock with wooden gears. His father, recognizing his son's potential, helped David build a collection of tools necessary for clock making. After construction was completed on a small workshop at the family's Norriton farm, David began making and selling clocks.
(2) Barton, William (1813). Memoirs of the Life of David Rittenhouse Anterior to His Settlement in Philadelphia. Memoirs of the Life of David Rittenhouse, LLD. F.R.S.: Late President of the American Philosophical Society, &c. Interspersed with Various Notices of Many Distinguished Men: with an Appendix, Containing Sundry Philosophical and Other Papers, Most of which Have Not Hitherto Been Published. Philadelphia: Edward Parker. p. 97. LCCN 15004714. OCLC 166059809. Retrieved February 23, 2019 – via Google Books.It was at this period, or rather at about the seventeenth year of his age, that he made a wooden clock, of very ingenious workmanship:
(3) Sweinhart, Fred C. (October 1941). "Early Pennsylvania Clocks and Their Makers" (PDF). The Bulletin of the Historical Society of Montgomery County. Norristown, Pennsylvania: Historical Society of Montgomery County. 3 (1): 43. ISSN 0362-8590. LCCN sf77000139. OCLC 1681070. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 22, 2019. Retrieved February 22, 2019.David Rittenhouse was born in 1732 and died in 1796. .... He is said to have made his first clock at the age of 17 (1749). This was a wooden clock and the records show that he and his brother Benjamin made brass clocks in 1760.
- Child, p. 17. "When he was fifty-nine years old, he made an Almanac. ... This was the first Almanac ever made in this country".
- Woodson, 1916, p. 91. "Despite his limited means, he (Banneker) secured through Goddard and Angell in Baltimore the first almanac published in this country."
- Graves, Lynne Gomez, Historical Projects Director, Afro-American Bicentennial Corporation, Washington, D.C (February 3, 1976). "Benjamin Banneker: SW-9 Intermediate Boundary Stone (milestone) of the District of Columbia: Statement of Significance" (PDF). United States Department of the Interior: National Park Service: National Register of Historic Places Inventory––Nomination Form. Richmond, Virginia: Virginia Department of Historic Resources. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 1, 2016. Retrieved October 7, 2016.
- (1) Thomas, Isiah. Catalog of Books printed by Daye. The History of Printing in America: With A Biography of Printers: In Two Volumes: With the Author's Corrections and Additions, and a Catalog of American Publications Previous to the Revolution of 1776: Originally published Albany 1874. 1 (2nd ed.). New York: Burt Franklin. pp. 46–48. Retrieved March 23, 2020 – via Google Books.
1639. An Almanack, calculated for New England. By Mr. Pierce, Mariner
(2) The First Almanac. The Bookworm: An Illustrated History of Old-Time Literature. London: Elliot Stock, 62, Paternoster Road. 1888. p. 34. Retrieved March 23, 2020 – via Internet Archive.It is a fact upon which most bibliographers agree, that the first almanac printed in America came out in 1639, and was entitled "An Almanac Calculated for New England" by Mr. Pierce, Mariner. The printer was Stephen Day, or Daye, to whom belongs the title of the first printer in North America. The press was at Cambridge, Mass., and its introduction was effected mainly through Rev. Jesse Glover, a wealthy Nonconformist minister, who had only recently left England.
(3) North, Simon Newton Dexter (1884). Almanacs and Annual Publications. History and Present Condition of the Newspaper and Periodical Press, with a Catalogue of the Publications of the Census Year. Washington: Government Printing Office. p. 55. Retrieved March 23, 2020 – via Internet Archive.In 1639 appeared in Cambridge "An Almanac Calculated for New England", by Mr. William Pierce, Mariner
(4) Morrison, p. 32. - "Ames, Nathaniel". Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. February 2013. p. 1. Retrieved May 28, 2018 – via EBSC Host Connection.
- (1) Poor Robin (James Franklin) (1727). "The Rhode-Island almanack. For the year, 1728. Being bissextile, or leap-year. Carefully fitted, and exact- [sic] calculated to the meridian of Newport on Rhode-Island; whose latitude north is 41 gr. 30 m. longitude from London 72 grs. But may without sensible error, serve all parts of New-England. Being the first ever published for that meridian". OCLC 70091122. Retrieved May 28, 2018 – via Internet Archive.
(2) Chapin, Howard M. Check List of Rhode Island Almanacs, 1643-1850. Worcester, Massachusetts: American Antiquarian Society. pp. 14–15. LCCN 16002536. OCLC 964275. Retrieved March 23, 2020 – via Google Books. - Goodrich, Charles A. (1829). Benjamin Franklin. Lives of the Signers to the Declaration of Independence. New York: W. Reed & Co. p. 267. OCLC 2343155. Retrieved April 24, 2015 – via Internet Archive.
- "New Acquisition: First Masonic Almanac Published in the United States". Lexington, Massachusetts: Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library. July 24, 2012. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
Samuel Stearns (1741-1809), the author whose name appears on the cover of The Free Mason's Calendar, was a physician and astronomer. In addition to the Free Mason's Calendar, he issued other almanacs, including the North-American Almanack, published annually from 1771-1784, as well as the first American nautical almanac, The Navigator's Kalendar, or Nautical Almanack, for 1783.
- (1) Davis, Nancy M. (August 26, 2001). "Andrew Ellicott: Astronomer…mathematician…surveyor". Philadelphia Connection. Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation: Philadelphia Chapter. Archived from the original on January 9, 2006. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
After the war, he (Ellicott) returned to Fountainvale, the family home in Ellicott Upper Mills, and published a series of almanacs, The United States Almanack. (The earliest known copy is dated 1782.)
(2) Bedini, 1999, pp. 97, 109, 210. - Morrison
- Morrison, pp. 30-31.
- (1) Bedini, 1999, p. 191.
(2) A Plan of a Peace-Office, for the United States. In Banneker, 1792a, pp. 5, 7, 9. - Phillip Lee Phillips (1857-1924) was the first Superintendent of Maps for the Library of Congress, where he devoted over thirty years to the development of the Library's map and atlas collection. See:
(1) "Philip Lee Phillips Society Programs and Activities" (PDF). Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress Geography and Map Division. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 9, 2013. Retrieved April 6, 2015.
(2) "Philip Lee Phillips Map Society: The Friends Group of the Geography and Map Division: Library of Congress" (PDF). Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress Geography and Map Division. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 6, 2015. Retrieved April 6, 2015.
(3) Seavey, Charles A. (1993). "Philip Lee Phillips and the growth of the library of Congress map collection, 1897–1924". Government Publications Review. Elsevier. 20 (3): 283–295. doi:10.1016/0277-9390(93)90004-9. ISSN 0277-9390. OCLC 4656134177. - Phillips, P. Lee (1917). "The Negro, Benjamin Banneker; Astronomer and Mathematician, Plea for Universal Peace (Read before the Society, April 18, 1916)". Records of the Columbia Historical Society. Columbia Historical Society, Washington, D.C. 20: 114–120. ISSN 0897-9049. LCCN 18019397. OCLC 1564221. Retrieved April 15, 2009 – via Google Books.
The almanac ... in which Banneker's plea for peace is found ... .
- The Washington Star's report of the presentation of P. Lee Phillip's April 18, 1916, paper to the Columbia Historical Society. In: Woodson, Carter G., ed. (July 1916). "Notes". The Journal of Negro History. Lancaster, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C.: The Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, Inc. 1 (3): 345. ISSN 0022-2992. JSTOR 3035631. OCLC 1034304517. Retrieved April 11, 2020 – via Google Books.
In the course of the paper, entitled "The Negro, Benjamin Banneker, Astronomer and Mathematician", it was brought out that Banneker, who was a free Negro, friend of Washington and Jefferson, published a series of almanacs, unique in that they were his own work throughout. In the almanac for 1793 one of the articles from Banneker's pen was "A Plan for a Peace Office of the United States," for promoting and preserving perpetual peace. This article was concise and well written, and contains most of the ideas set forth today by advocates of peace.
. Note: Phillips' April 18, 1916, paper does not contain the statements in The Washington Star's report, but states only that Banneker's plea for peace is found in the almanac. - Woodson, Carter Goodwin (2009). Chapter 14: The New Program. The Mis-education of the Negro. Mineola, New York: Dover Publications Originally published by Associated Publishers, Washington, D.C., 1933. p. 100. ISBN 9780486130927. LCCN 2005045548. OCLC 861276529. Retrieved April 14, 2020 – via Google Books.
We would not neglect the unusual contribution of Thomas Jefferson to freedom and democracy; but we would invite attention also to two of his outstanding contemporaries, Phillis Wheatley, the writer of interesting verse, and Benjamin Banneker, the mathematician, astronomer, and advocate of a world peace plan set forth in 1793 with the vital principles of Woodrow Wilson's League of Nations.
- (1) Johnson, Charles S., ed. (July 1927). "Editorial: A Word of Praise for the Elders". Opportunity: A Journal of Negro Life. New York: National Urban League. 5 (7): 192. OCLC 6535020. Retrieved April 15, 2020 – via Google Books.
There is, for example, the venerable Benjamin Banneker, who in 1793 proposed a peace plan which could easily enough be accepted as the seed of the present League of Nations.
(2) Mays, Benjamin E. (July 19, 2010). Chapter III: Ideas of God in "Classical" Literature: 1760-1860. The Negro's God As Reflected In His Literature. Eugene, Oregon: Wipf and Stock. Previously published by Chapman & Grimes, Boston, 1938. p. 107. ISBN 1608997774. LCCN 38037550. OCLC 663881207. Retrieved April 13, 2020 – via Google Books.Benjamin Banneker, astronomer and mathematician, was born in Baltimore County, Maryland, November 9, 1731. ... One of the earliest plans for peace comes from him. .... Concerning his peace plan, Banneker argues that only God "has the power to take away the life of a human being". .... (Reference:) Phillips, Phillip Lee, The Negro, Benjamin Banneker, The Negro, Benjamin Banneker, (Astronomer and Mathematician), Plea for Universal Peace, p. 17, Reprint from the Recorder of the Columbia Historical Society, Vol. 20, 1917)
(3) Padover (February 2, 1948). "Benjamin Banneker: Unschooled Wizard". The New Republic. Retrieved April 10, 2020.His (Banneker's) "A Plan of Peace-office for the United States" is one of the most interesting, if naive, proposals on record.
(4) Stanford, Karin L. (2008). "Benjamin Banneker (1731-1806): Letter to the Secretary of State: A Plan of Peace Office For The United States: August 19, 1791". If We Must Die: African American Voices on War and Peace: Chapter One: Revolutionary War - My Liberation, Your Freedom: 1775-1783. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 24–26. ISBN 0742541134. LCCN 2007046310. OCLC 182552860. Retrieved April 10, 2020 – via Google Books.He (Banneker) wrote this peace plan appealing to two significant principles: the federal government's respnsibility to service its citizens, and most importantly the idea that the country should adhere to the prinicles of Christianity and equal treatment of all men.
(5) Banks, Dr. Melvin (October 17, 2013). "Benjamin Banneker Was A Pacemaker". Urban Faith. Archived from the original on October 21, 2013.Many people know Benjamin Banneker helped to layout Washington, D.C. But this African American, born in 1731, also put out an annual almanac. In it, he promoted peace. He urged the president to adopt this four-point peace plan: Appoint a Secretary of Peace; Set up free schools in every city; Give every family a Bible; Print this Bible verse on every door, “The Son of Man came into the world not to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.”
(6) "A Plan for a Department of Peace for the United States – 1792 by Benjamin Banneker" (PDF). Lacey, Washington: North Thurston Public Schools. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
(7) "Views on Racial Discrimination and Slavery". Benjamin Banneker. The Benjamin Banneker Association, Inc. (bbamath.org). Archived from the original on November 15, 2017.In 1793 he (Banneker) proposed a peace plan for America which included many points including a suggestion that there should be a ‘Secretary of Peace’.
(8) "A Man of Many Firsts". His Story. Washington, D.C.: Washington Interdependence Council. 2017.Banneker, in his debut almanac of 1792, was the first to recommend the establishment of a U.S. Department of Peace.
Archived September 20, 2019, at the Wayback Machine - (1) Rush, 1798, cover page
(2) "Benjamin Rush: 1745-1813: Representing Pennsylvania at the Continental Congress". Signers of the Declaration of Independence. ushistory.org. Archived from the original on February 7, 2018. Retrieved February 7, 2018. - Rush, 1798, Preface. "Most of the following essays were published in the Museum, and in the Columbian Magazine, in this City, soon after the revolutionary war in the United States. A few of them made their first appearance in pamphlets. They are now published in a single volume, at the request of several friends, and with the view of promoting the ends at first contemplated by them."
- (1) Rush, 1799, pp. 183–188
(2) Bedini, 1972, p. 187. "For some unexplained reason, it (the plan in Banneker's 1793 almanac) was published without identifying the author. Rush included the "Plan" in a collection of essays published five years later, with substantial additions to the text." - DeSantis, Sarah (2009). "Cadbury, Henry Joel". University Park, Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania State University Libraries: Pennsylvania Center for the Book. Archived from the original on May 15, 2013. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
- Wesley, Charles H. (1997). Conyers, Jr., James L. (ed.). "Biographical Studies: Carter G. Woodson — As a Scholar". Charles H. Wesley: The Intellectual Tradition of a Black Historian. Taylor & Francis. p. 99. ISBN 0815327544. LCCN 96037837. OCLC 36029629. Retrieved April 14, 2020 – via Google Books.
- Bedini, 1972, p. 361, reference 5.
- (1) Partial copy of book (E-book): Runes, Dagobert D., ed. (May 26, 2015). A Plan of a Peace Office for the United States (1799). The Selected Writings of Benjamin Rush. Open Road Integrated Media. pp. 29–33. ISBN 9781504013062. OCLC 928885110. Archived from the original on June 13, 2019. Retrieved June 13, 2019 – via Google Books.
(2) Full text of book: Runes, Dagobert D., ed. (1947). "A Plan of a Peace Office for the United States (1799)". Full text of "The Selected Writings Of Benjamin Rush". New York: Philosophical Library. pp. 19–23. Retrieved April 6, 2020 – via Internet Archives. - Graham, Shirley (1949). Chapter XII: A Plan For Peace. Your Most Humble Servant. New York: Julian Messner, Inc. pp. 191–194. LCCN 49011346. OCLC 1036934508. Retrieved April 15, 2020 – via Internet Archive Digital Library.
- Graham, 1949, Notes on Sources, pp. 227-228. "Certainly Banneker published much in his almanacs which he did not himself write. Many of his long articles are signed by his initials. However, when someone suggests that the initials "B.R." (Benjamin Rush) might easily be mistaken for B.B. (Benjamin Banneker) I must point out that the article as it was printed in the Almanac of 1793 is not initialed. See first and last page of "A Plan for Peace" photographed from the Almanac for 1793 preserved in the Rare Book Room of the New York Public Library."
- (1) Whiteman, Maxwell (ed.), p. 13.
(2) "Benjamin Banneker's 1793 Almanack and Ephemeris". Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution: Smithsonian Digital Volunteers: Transcription Center. p. 9. Retrieved April 15, 2020. Archived April 15, 2020, at the Wayback Machine - Du Bois, W. E. B. "Banneker's peace plan, ca. 1950". W. E. B. Du Bois Papers (MS 312). Amherst, Massachusetts: University of Massachusetts Amherst: Special Collections and University Archives. Archived from the original on April 15, 2020. Retrieved April 15, 2020. Note: Typed draft of unpublished article discussing Benjamin Banneker's plan for peace.
- Whiteman, Maxwell (1969). BENJAMIN BANNEKER: Surveyor and Astronomer: 1731-1806: A biographical note In Whiteman, Maxwell (ed.) "The plan for a "Peace Office" in the Government of the United States, which also appeared in this issue (Banneker's 1793 Philadelphia almanac) has been attributed to Banneker. According to Edwin Wolf 2nd, Librarian of the Library Company of Philadelphia from whose institution these copies have been made, the "Peace Office" is the work of Dr. Benjamin Rush."
- Bedini, 1972, p. 186. "Another important item included in the 1793 almanac was "A Plan of a Peace Office for the United States", which aroused considerable comment at the time. Many believed it to have been Banneker's own work. Even recently its authorship has been debated, but in 1947 it was identified beyond question as the work of Dr. Benjamin Rush in a volume of his own writings that appeared in that year."
- "Why Banneker?". About Banneker Banneker Institute: Banneker Institute: Harvard University. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The President and Fellows of Harvard College. 2019. Archived from the original on March 31, 2019. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
The program and its name are a nod to Benjamin Banneker, a surveyor best known for accompanying Andrew Ellicott in his original land survey of what would become Washington, D.C. Banneker was also an accomplished astronomer, which drove the success of his series of almanacs. As a forefather to Black American contributions to science, his eminence has earned him the distinction of being the first professional astronomer in America.
- "Banneker Institute". Harvard University. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The President and Fellows of Harvard College. 2019. Archived from the original on January 20, 2019. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
The Banneker Institute summer program is a full-time, ten-week research and study experience. We prepare undergraduate students of color for graduate programs in astronomy by emphasizing research, building community, and encouraging debate and political action through social justice education.
- Title page of Banneker, Benjamin. "Benjamin Banneker's Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia Almanack and Ephemeris For the YEAR of our LORD 1792". Baltimore, Philadelphia, Alexandria: William Goddard, James Angell, Joseph Crukshank, Daniel Humphreys, Messrs. Hanson and Bond. Retrieved August 20, 2010. Archived 2013-05-28 at the Wayback Machine. Image in "American Memory". Library of Congress. Archived from the original on April 22, 2015. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
- Allaben, Frank. Original Document: Banneker's Appeal to Jefferson for Emancipation. The National Magazine: A Journal Devoted To American History: Vol. XVII, November, 1892 — April, 1893. New York: The National History Company. p. 67. Archived from the original on March 4, 2017. Retrieved February 18, 2017 – via Google Books.
...., but that having taken up my pen in order to direct to you as a present a copy of my Almanac which I have calculated for the Succeeding year, ..... and altho I had almost declined to make my calculation for the ensuing year, in consequence of that time which I had allotted therefor being taking up at the Federal Territory by the request of Mr. Andrew Ellicott, yet finding my Self underal several engagements to printers of this State to whom I have communicated my design, on my return to my place of residence, I industrially applied my Self thereto, ....
- Rumrill, H.B. (October 1942). "Early American Astronomy". Popular Astronomy. 50: 408–419. Retrieved February 18, 2017 – via The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory/National Aeronautics and Space Administration Astrophysics Data System hosted by the High Energy Astrophysics Division at the Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
- (1) Pazmino, John (June 15, 2008). "Outline of 18th Century Astronomy". NYSkies Astronomy Inc. Archived from the original on November 21, 2008. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
(2) Aveni, Anthony F. (Winter 2006). "Astronomers and Stargazers: Eyeing a Heliocentric Heaven for Planets, Portents, and Horoscopes". Colonial Williamsburg Journal. Williamsburg, Virginia: Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. Archived from the original on February 20, 2006. Retrieved February 19, 2017. - (1) "Sic Transit Glorious: A Transit of Venus Celebration: June 1 – 10, 2012". APS museum. American Philosophical Society. 2012. Archived from the original on April 24, 2012. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
(2) Winthrop, John (1764). "Observation of the Transit of Venus, June 6, 1761, at St John's, Newfound-Land". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society. 54: 279–283. doi:10.1098/rstl.1764.0048. - Rothenberg, Marc (Smithsonian Institution), ed. (2001). Astronomy and Astrophysics. The History of Science in the United States: An Encyclopedia. New York: Garland Publishing, Inc. pp. 56–57. ISBN 9780203902806. LCCN 2003040978. OCLC 682090024. Retrieved February 19, 2017 – via Google Books.
This level of (astronomical) activity could not be sustained after the Revolutionary War. A people engaged in war and nation-building were unable to provide its astronomical community with sufficient community resources to be competitive with Europe. .... Individuals interested in astronomy could earn a living as surveyors, through the publications of almanacs or teaching, but not through research. As a result, what astronomical activity there was during the years of 1776 through 1830 was sporadic and inconsequential.
- Sherrod, P. Clay; Koed, Thomas L. (1981). A Complete Manual of Amateur Astronomy: Tools and Techniques for Astronomical Observations. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall. p. 2. ISBN 9780486152165. LCCN 81002441. OCLC 904451880. Retrieved February 20, 2017 – via Google Books.
The dawn of American professional astronomy began midway in the nineteenth century, when the Naval Observatory at Washington, D.C., was established in 1844. In 1847 the giant refractor of Harvard College was put to use by the father of American astronomy, William Cranch Bond, a clockmaker from Boston. Interestingly, Bond was self-trained in his knowledge of astronomy and was an amateur in the strictest sense until taking the Harvard appointment.
- "HCO: The Great Refractor". Harvard College Observatory. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. Archived from the original on August 6, 2018. Retrieved March 30, 2019.
- Milloy, Courtland (April 21, 2004). "Time to Create Some Buzz for Banneker". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. p. B01. Republished by Washington Interdependence Council: Administrators of the Benjamin Banneker Memorial and Banneker Institute of Math & Science Archived 2013-02-24 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2012-10-02.
- Note: Milloy gave Bedini, 1999, as his source of information. Bedini, 1999, p. 264, quotes the following sentence in a journal that Banneker wrote around 1795 describing the cicadas' periodic appearances: "So that if I may venture, So as to express it, their periodic return is Seventeen years." Banneker therefore believed that he was the first to report this periodicity. Bedini did not express any such belief. Further, Bedini, 1999, does not state that Banneker's handwritten report was printed or published before Banneker died in 1806.
- Barber, Janet E.; Nkwanta, Asamoah (2014). "Benjamin Banneker's Original Handwritten Document: Observations and Study of the Cicada". Journal of Humanistic Mathematics. 4 (1): 119. doi:10.5642/jhummath.201401.07. Archived from the original on August 27, 2014. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
- Marlatt, C.L (1898). The Periodical Cicada in Literature. The Periodical Cicada: An Account of Cicada Septendecim, Its Natural Enemies and the Means of Preventing its Injury, Together With A Summary of the Distribution of the Different Broods (Bulletin No. 14 - New Series, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Division of Entomology). Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office. pp. 112–118. OCLC 10684275. Archived from the original on December 22, 2016. Retrieved May 21, 2016 – via Google Books.
- Dudley, Paul (1733). Periodical Revolutions. Additional Manuscripts 4433, Folios 4-11, Division of Manuscripts of the British Library, London. Archived from the original on February 16, 2017. Retrieved May 21, 2017 – via Google Books. Cited on page 49 of Kritsky, Gene (2004). Hoffmann, Nancy E.; Van Horne, John C (eds.). John Bartram and the Periodical Cicadas: A Case Study. America's Curious Botanist: A Tercentennial Reappraisal of John Bartram 1699-1777. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: The American Philosophical Society. pp. 43–51. Archived from the original on February 16, 2017. Retrieved May 21, 2017 – via Google Books.
Moreover, the first time the Society had heard about periodical cicadas was from Paul Dudley, who sent a manuscript to the Society in 1733. .... Dudley correctly noted the seventeen-year life cycle and provided evidence. However, Collinson's paper shows that he used Bartram's claim of a fifteen-year cycle in his paper.
- Davis, J.J. (May 1953). "Pehr Kalm's Description of the Periodical Cicada, Magicicada septendecim L., from Kongl. Svenska Vetenskap Academiens Handlinger, 17:101-116, 1756, translated by Larson, Esther Louise (Mrs. K.E. Doak)". The Ohio Journal of Science. 53: 139–140. Archived from the original on November 3, 2018. Republished by Knowledge Bank: The Ohio State University Libraries and Office of the Chief Information Officer Archived 2015-10-03 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2012-10-02.
- Kalm, Peter (1771). Travels into North America: Translated into English, By John Reinhold Foster. 2. London: T. Lowndess. pp. 212–213. Archived from the original on January 11, 2017. Retrieved May 21, 2017 – via Google Books.
- Kalm, Peter (1771). Travels into North America: Translated into English, By John Reinhold Foster. 2. London: T. Lowndess. pp. 6–7. Archived from the original on April 12, 2016. Retrieved May 21, 2017 – via Google Books.
- Linnaei, Caroli (1758). Insecta. Hemiptera. Cicada. Mannifera. septendecim. Systema Naturae Per Regna Tria Naturae, Secundum Classes, Ordines, Genera, Species, Cum Characteribus, Differentiis, Synonymis, Locis. 1 (10 ed.). Stockholm, Sweden: Laurentii Salvii. pp. 436–437. Archived from the original on March 25, 2017. Retrieved May 24, 2017 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL).
- Bartram, Moses (1766). Observations on the cicada, or locust of America, which appears periodically once in 16 or 17 years. Communicated by the ingenious Peter Collinson, Esq. The Annual Register, or a View of the History, Politicks, and Literature, for the Year 1767. London: Printed for J. Dodsley (1768). pp. 103–106. OCLC 642534652. Retrieved May 21, 2017 – via Google Books.
- (1) Child, p. 21. "In 1803, Mr. Jefferson invited him (Banneker) to visit him in Monticello, ...".
(2) Woodson, 1919, p. 91 "It appear's that Jefferson had some doubt about the man's genius, but the fact that the philosopher invited Banneker to visit him at Monticello in 1803, indicates that the increasing reputation of the Negro must have changed his opinion as to the extent of Banneker's attainments and the value of his contributions to mathematics and science." - Bedini, 1972, p. 392. "... the author (Lydia Maria Child) makes the unsubstantiated claim that in 1803 Jefferson invited Banneker to visit him in Monticello, and there are some errors in dates picked up from the scorces stated."
- (1) MacRae, David (1876). Amongst the Darkies. Glasgow, Scotland: John S. Marr & Sons. pp. 28–30. LCCN 84239293. OCLC 11848328.
(2) Bedini, 1972, pp. 393—394. "Based on other published sources, the account (MacRae, "Amongst the Darkies") perpetuates erroneous dates and such apocryphal claims as that in 1803 Banneker was invited to visit Jefferson in Monticello." - Bedini, 1972, p. 397. "One writer, W. A. L., stated that Jefferson invited Banneker to dine with him at the Executive Mansion and that he had also invited Banneker to Montecello."
- Bedini, 1972, p. 126. "Equally untrue are legends that Thomas Jefferson as Secretary of State invited Banneker to luncheon at the White House. Jefferson during this period was in Philadelphia, the national capital had not yet been built, and there was no White House.
- Bedini, 1972, p. 397. "No evidence of such invitations has been found."
- Morris, Lloyd (February 1930). "The Negro 'Renaissance". Southern Workman. Hampton, Virginia: Press of the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute. 59: 82–86. Reprinted in Gates, Jr., Henry Louis; Garrett, Gene Andrew (2007). The New Negro: Readings on Race, Representation, and African American Culture, 1892–1938. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. pp. 238–239. ISBN 978-0-691-12652-4. LCCN 2006052876. OCLC 608490813. Archived from the original on December 24, 2016. Retrieved May 23, 2017 – via Google Books.
- "Biography of Thomas Jefferson". Washington, D.C.: The White House. April 9, 2011. Archived from the original on April 9, 2011. Retrieved August 23, 2009..
- Jefferson, Thomas (August 30, 1791). "Letter from Thomas Jefferson to Mr. Benjamin Banneker". Image of letter in "American Memory". Library of Congress. Archived from the original on February 3, 2016. Retrieved April 3, 2015.
- 1943 Cartoon by Charles Alston: "BENJAMIN BANNEKER – ASTRONOMER-CITY PLANNER". Image available at the Archival Research Catalog (ARC) of the National Archives and Records Administration Archived 2009-08-01 at the Wayback Machine under the ARC Identifier 535626. Retrieved 2009-02-03.
- Wonder, Stevie; Byrd, Gary. "Black Man Lyrics". MetroLyrics. Archived from the original on June 25, 2013. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
- (1) Perpinyà, Núria (1998). "Un bon error". Narrativa (Empúries), 77 (in Catalan). Barcelona: Editorial Empúries. ISBN 8475965733. LCCN 98158475. OCLC 807597706. Retrieved November 17, 2017 – via Google Books.
(2) Perpinyà, Núria (2014). "A Good Mistake". Núria Perpinyà. Archived from the original on October 30, 2014. Retrieved July 31, 2016 – via Diseño web Freelance - FreelandStudio S.L.For example, Aleph Banneker is not a poor black but an eminent scientist. .... The references to scientists and thinkers, starting with the black astronomer and urbanist from the eighteenth century, Benjamin Banneker, are real.
- Bedini 1969
- Benjamin Banneker Memorial (PDF). Environmental Assessment for Improvements to L'Enfant Promenade and Benjamin Banneker Park. District Department of Transportation, Government of the District of Columbia (DC.gov) and Eastern Federal Lands Highway Division, Federal Highway Administration, United States Department of Transportation. March 2006. pp. 1–6, 1–7. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 16, 2017. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
- Bedini, 1999, p. 132. "An exhaustive search of government repositories, including the Public Buildings and Ground files in the National Archives, and varied collections in the Library of Congress, failed to turn up Banneker's name on any contemporary documents or records relating to the selection, planning or survey of the City of Washington. Nor was he mentioned in any of the surviving correspondence and papers of Andrew Ellicott and of Pierre Charles L'Enfant."
- Bedini, 1969, p. 24."Some of the confusion may have been the result of the assignment of Benjamin Ellicott, Major Andrew Ellicott's younger brother and an assistant surveyor, to assist L'Enfant in preparing a sketch of the city in the summer of 1791. Banneker undoubtedly met L'Enfant during the course of his stay on the project, however."
- "Benjamin Banneker Park" (PDF). Environmental Assessment: Benjamin Banneker Park Connection. Washington, D.C.: National Park Service: National Mall and Memorial Parks. March 2016. p. 29. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
The Tenth Street Overlook was renamed Benjamin Banneker Park in 1971 by the NPS, though the area has no specific connection to Banneker himself, ...
- (1) "A Vision Unfolds". Exhibitions: The Initiated Eye: Secrets, Symbols, Freemasonry and the Architecture of Washington, DC. Peter Waddell.com. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
A Vision Unfolds: 36" x 48", oil on canvas
Archived July 31, 2005, at the Wayback Machine
(2) "Biography". Peter Waddell. Peter Waddell.com. Retrieved October 22, 2016.Exhibitions: .... 2005: The Initiated Eye: Secrets, Symbols, Freemasonry and the Architecture of Washington DC. The Octagon Museum, Washington, DC.
Archived January 9, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
(3) "Masonic Art Exhibit Opens at the Octagon". The Scottish Rite Journal of Freemasonry: Southern Jurisdiction, U.S.A.: Current Interest: July–August 2005. Washington, D.C. Retrieved October 23, 2016.Tuesday, May 17, was the grand opening of the Octagon Museum's phenomenal exhibit, "The Initiated Eye: Secrets, Symbols, Freemasonry, and the Architecture of Washington, D.C." Twenty-one paintings by Peter Waddell showcased the little-recognized contribution of Freemasons to the design and architecture of our nation's capital.
Archived October 24, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
(4) "The Initiated Eye: Secrets, Symbols, Freemasonry and the Architecture of Washington, DC". ArtMagick. 2007. Retrieved December 2, 2016.The Initiated Eye: Secrets, Symbols, Freemasonry and the Architecture of Washington, DC, with Paintings by Peter Waddell, features 21 paintings by Waddell, a contemporary history painter, illustrates the Masonic connection to the building of early-19th century Washington. Exhibition Locations and Dates: USA, Nebraska, Omaha, Joslyn Art Museum: April 28, 2007 - June 10, 2007
Archived October 5, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
(5) "Benjamin Banneker". The Initiated Eye: Freemasonry and the Architecture of Washington, D.C. (exhibition). Lexington, Massachusetts: National Heritage Museum. December 7, 2009. Retrieved October 22, 2016.The Initiated Eye" presents 21 oil paintings by Peter Waddell based on the architecture of Washington, D.C., and the role that our founding fathers and prominent citizens – many of whom were Freemasons – played in establishing the layout and design of the city. .... The painting shown here depicts a meeting between President George Washington (1732-1799) and surveyors Andrew Ellicott (1754-1820) and Benjamin Banneker (1731-1806). Congress designated the location of the new capital on January 24, 1791. Elliott and Banneker surveyed the ten-mile-square tract of land and produced a base map of the area. .... The Initiated Eye" opens December 19, 2009 and will be on view through January 9, 2011.
Archived February 26, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
(6) "A Vision Unfolds". The Initiated Eye: Panel 1. Washington, D.C.: The Grand Lodge of Free And Accepted Masons of the District of Columbia. 2013. Retrieved December 2, 2016.A Vision Unfolds - Congress designated the location of the new Capitol on January 24, 1791. It was a ten-mile square parcel of land along the Potomac and Eastern Branch Rivers. Andrew Ellicott and Benjamin Banneker surveyed the tract of land and produced the base map. Banneker, a self taught African American surveyor and astronomer, plotted the locations of the forty boundary stones one mile apart along the entire perimeter.
Archived October 23, 2016, at the Wayback Machine Note: Panel 1 contains a high-resolution image of A Vision Unfolds.
(7) "Grand Lodge History & The Initiated Eye Painting Exhibit". Washington, D.C.: The Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the District of Columbia. October 26, 2011. Retrieved October 23, 2016.Illustrious Leonard Proden, 33˚, S.G.I.G. of the Supreme Council in D.C and Past Grand Master of Masons in D.C is pleased to announce that the Valley of Washington, Orient of the District of Columbia, will celebrate the 200th Anniversary of the founding of the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the District of Columbia on Tuesday, November 15, 2011. All brethren, their family, and friends are invited to participate in this festive evening which will include: .... A special viewing of "The Initiated Eye", the heralded collection of D.C. Masonic-themed paintings, on exhibition in Washington, D.C. again for the first time in over five years. The artist, Peter Waddell, will be on hand to present his latest addition to the collection, a celebratory painting commemorating the Bicentennial of the Grand Lodge of D.C.
Archived October 23, 2016, at the Wayback Machine - Savage, Edward. "The Washington Family 1789-1796". Collection. Washington, D.C.: National Gallery of Art. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
Edward Savage's The Washington Family quickly became a veritable icon of our early national pride. In the winter of 1789–1790, President Washington and his wife posed for Savage in New York City, then the nation's capital. ... With a map before her, Martha Washington is "pointing with her fan to the grand avenue," now known as Pennsylvania Avenue.
Archived September 14, 2016, at the Wayback Machine - Ellicott, Andrew (1793). "Territory of Columbia". Maps. Library of Congress. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
Notes: ... Accompanied by positive and negative photocopies of 3 letters dated 1793 relating to the map, 1 of which signed by: And'w Ellicott.
Archived 2016-10-11 at the Wayback Machine - Stewart, p. 57
- Bedini, 1999, p. 136. "Although the exact date of Banneker's departure from the survey is not specified in Ellicott's report of expenditures, it occurred some time late in the month of April 1791, following the arrival of one of Ellicott's brothers. It was not until some ten months after Banneker's departure from the scene that L'Enfant was dismissed, by means of a letter from Jefferson dated February 27, 1792. This conclusively dispels any basis for the legend that after L'Enfant's dismissal and his refusal to make available his plan of the city, Banneker recollected the plan in detail from which Ellicott was able to reconstruct it. Equally untrue and in fact impossible is the legend that Thomas Jefferson as secretary of state invited Jefferson to luncheon at the White House. Jefferson during this period was in Philadelphia, the national capital had not yet been built, and there was no White House.
- Eschner, Kat (November 9, 2017). "Three Things to Know About Benjamin Banneker's Pioneering Career". Smithsonian Magazine: SmartNews. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution. Archived from the original on March 22, 2020. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
- Morrison, pp. 31, 32.
- Bedini, 1999, pp. 133—134.
- Keene, Louis. "Benjamin Banneker: The Black Tobacco Farmer Who The Presidents Couldn't Ignore". The White House Historical Association. Archived from the original on August 31, 2019. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
Letters from Ellicott show that in February 1791, he set out with Banneker and several field laborers for Jones Point, Virginia, to plot the boundary lines of the nascent Federal City. .... President Washington and Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson – whose 1785 book Notes on the State of Virginia stated that people of African descent were intellectually inferior to whites – were aware of Banneker’s participation.
- Cerami, 2002, p. 129.
- Cerami, 2002, p. 136.
- Corrigan, p. 3.
- (1) "Washington DC Quarter Design Images Released, Public Asked to Vote for Favorite". CoinNews.net. June 4, 2008. Archived from the original on January 15, 2018. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
(2) "District of Columbia Quarter". Coin and Medal Programs: D.C. and U.S. Territories Quarters. United States Mint. June 1, 2016. Retrieved January 15, 2018. - "Benjamin Banneker: Abolitionist, Mathematician, Scientist, Inventor" (PDF). District of Columbia Quarter Dollar Coin Design Narratives: Office of the Secretary of the District of Columbia: Letter from Adrian M. Fenty, Mayor of the District of Columbia to Edmund C. Moy, Director, United States Mint: News Release: "DC Submits Quarter Dollar Designs to the US Mint". Newsroom, Government of the District of Columbia. February 25, 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 3, 2008. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
- "Benjamin Banneker: Abolitionist, Mathematician, Astronomer" (PDF). District of Columbia Quarter Dollar Coin Design Final Narratives. Office of the Secretary of the District of Columbia: Newsroom, Government of the District of Columbia. March 3, 2008. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 12, 2008.
- Office of the Secretary of the District of Columbia. "DC's Duke Ellington Quarter" (PDF). Secretariat of the District of Columbia: Executive Office: FY 2008 Annual Report. Government of the District of Columbia. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 28, 2020. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
- Fenty, Adrian M. (June 19, 2008). "Recommendation Letter to the U.S. Mint" (PDF). Office of the Secretary of the District of Columbia: Government of the District of Columbia. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 15, 2018. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
- Maryland Historical Society. ""Benjamin Banneker (1731–1806)" marker". HMmdb.org: The Historical Marker Database. Retrieved September 21, 2010. Archived 2011-10-19 at the Wayback Machine.
- Bedini, 1999, p. 317.
- (1) Bedini, 1999, pp. 96—97, 148
(2) Drake, p. 214. "The MARYLAND, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and North-Carolina Almanack and Ephemeris for 1781. By Andrew Ellicott. Baltimore: M. K. Goddard: Philadelphia: Benjamin January."
(3) Drake, p. 215. "ELLICOTT'S Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia Almanack and Ephemeris for 1786. Baltimore: Goddard and Langworthy."
(4) Drake, p. 216. "ELLICOTT'S Maryland and Virginia Almanack, and Ephemeris for 1787. Baltimore: John Hayes." - (1) Drake, p. 211. "The VIRGINIA and Maryland almanac for the year of 1730. By J. Warner. Annapolis: William Parks"
(2) Drake, pp. 211—218. - "Benjamin Banneker Park (10th Street Overlook)". Cultural Landscapes Inventory. Washington, D.C.: National Mall and Memorial Parks, National Park Service. 2013. pp. 8, 29–36. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
- (1) Miller, Richard E. (June 30, 2009). Kevin W. (ed.). ""Benjamin Banneker Park" marker". National Park Service, United States Department of the Interior. HMdb.org: The Historical Marker Database. Archived from the original on October 20, 2011. Retrieved July 15, 2018.
(2) Miller, Richard E. (June 27, 2009). ""Benjamin Banneker Park" marker". HMdb.org: The Historical Marker Database. Archived from the original (photograph) on July 15, 2018. Retrieved July 15, 2018. - (1) Bedini, 1972, p. 45. "Completed in 1753, Bannekers' clock continued to operate until his death, more than 50 years later."
(2) Hartshorne, Henry, ed. (June 21, 1884). "Book Notice: Banneker, the Afric-American Astronomer. From the posthumous papers of M.E. Tyson. Edited by Her Daughter. Phila. 1020 Arch Street. 1884". Friends Review: A Religious, Literary and Miscellaneous Journal. 1316 Filbert Street, Philadelphia: Franklin E. Paige. 37 (46): 729. Archived from the original on January 16, 2017. Retrieved January 16, 2017 – via Google Books.Showing his inventive facility while quite a youth by making a good wooden clock without ever seeing a clock, being only guided by examining a borrowed watch, he (Banneker) ....
CS1 maint: location (link) - Note: Silvio Bedini wrote in 1964 that Banneker had constructed his clock based on drawings that he had made from a watch that he had acquired from a trader (Bedini, 1964, p. 22). In 1972 and 1999, Bedini wrote that Banneker had constructed his clock from his recollections of that watch (Bedini, 1972, p. 42. and Bedini, 1999, pp. 42—43.). Bedini did not identify his source for those statements. In 2008, when again describing Banneker's clock, Bedini more cautiously wrote: "It is said that it was based on his recollections of the mechanism of a pocket watch." (Bedini, 2008 Archived 2016-02-03 at the Wayback Machine).
- Note: Bedini, 1999 contains on page 45 a photograph of a striking wooden clock that Benjamin Cheney constructed in Connecticut around 1760 that the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History holds in its collections. The wooden clock shown in the Benjamin Banneker Park historical marker is identical to the one shown in the photograph in Bedini, 1999.
- Text of historic marker entitled "1800–1860 – Benjamin Banneker" on outdoor overlook of Pennsylvania Avenue on Level 6 of the Newseum, 555 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. Text of marker recorded on April 11, 2008.
References
- Bedini, Silvio A. (1964). "Early American Scientific Instruments and Their Makers". United States National Museum Bulletin. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Museum of History and Technology (231). LCCN 64062352. OCLC 999972. Retrieved January 4, 2019 – via Internet Archive.
- Bedini, Silvio A. (1969). "Benjamin Banneker and the Survey of the District of Columbia, 1791" (pdf). Records of the Columbia Historical Society. 69/70: 7–30. JSTOR 40067703. OCLC 3860814. Retrieved January 13, 2013 – via boundarystones.org. Archived 2017-10-07 at the Wayback Machine.
- Bedini, Silvio A. (1972). The Life of Benjamin Banneker. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. Republished by Landmark Enterprises, Rancho Cordova, California, 1984. ISBN 0910845204. LCCN 78162755. OCLC 593414330. Retrieved August 29, 2019 – via Internet Archive.
- Bedini, Silvio A. (Spring–Summer 1991). "The Survey of the Federal Territory: Andrew Ellicott and Benjamin Banneker". Washington History. Washington, D.C.: Historical Society of Washington, D.C. 3 (1): 76–95. JSTOR 40072968.
- Bedini, Silvio A. (1999). The Life of Benjamin Banneker: The First African-American Man of Science (2nd ed.). Baltimore: Maryland Historical Society. ISBN 0-938420-59-3. LCCN 98022848. OCLC 894558859. Retrieved September 11, 2019 – via Internet Archive.
- Murdock, Gail T. (November 11, 2002). "Benjamin Banneker – the man and the myths". Customer review of Bedini, Silvio A. (1999). "The Life of Benjamin Banneker: The First African-American Man of Science", 2nd ed., Baltimore: Maryland Historical Society. Amazon.com. Retrieved March 18, 2017. Archived 2016-03-10 at the Wayback Machine.
- Toscano, Patrick (March 2000). "Book Review: Bedini, Silvio A. (1999), "The Life of Benjamin Banneker: The First African-American Man of Science", 2nd ed., Baltimore: Maryland Historical Society". Professional Surveyor Magazine. Frederick, Maryland: Flatdog Media, Inc. 20 (3). Retrieved September 12, 2019. Archived 2019-09-12 at the Wayback Machine.
- Bedini, Silvio A. (2008). "Banneker, Benjamin". Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography. Charles Scribner's Sons. Archived from the original on February 23, 2018. Retrieved February 23, 2018 – via Encyclopedia.com.
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- Conway, Moncure D. (January 1863). "Benjamin Banneker, the Negro Astronomer". The Atlantic Monthly. Boston, Massachusetts: Ticknor & Fields. 11 (63): 79–84. Retrieved March 21, 2019 – via HathiTrust Digital Library.
- Crew, Harvey W., Webb, William Bensing, Wooldridge, John (1892). IV. "Permanent Capital Site Selected". Centennial History of the City of Washington, D.C. Dayton, Ohio: United Brethren Publishing House. p. 87. LCCN 06028029. OCLC 2843595. Retrieved May 7, 2009 – via Google Books.
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- Tyson, Martha Ellicott. A sketch of the life of Benjamin Banneker: from notes taken in 1836: read by J. Saurin Norris, before the Maryland Historical Society, October 5th, 1854. Baltimore, Maryland: Printed for the Maryland Historical Society by John D. Toy. LCCN rc01003357. OCLC 85794847. Retrieved April 24, 2015 – via Internet Archive.
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External links
