Blacks invented despite the odds -- Part 2

Benjamin Banneker excelled as an astronomer, surveyor and inventor.
Note: This the second of a seven-part series on black inventors in celebration of Black History Month.

By Craig T. Greenlee

The earliest of the black innovators were on the scene in America several years before the colonies broke ties with England. Benjamin Banneker made a name for himself as an inventor, surveyor and astronomer.

In 1761, Banneker produced the first American-made clock, using his pocket watch as a guide. The clock was made entirely of wood. Banneker used an assortment of knives of whittle the parts and a caliper to gauge the size of the timepiece's components.

One of Banneker's most notable feats came about because of happenstance. As things turned out, it was fortunate that he was around and available. Without him, Washington, D.C. may not ever have been built as America's capital city. He is credited as the man who designed the nation's capital.

Banneker to the rescue

All of this happened when French engineer/architect Major Pierre L'Enfant was fired from his position as the capital city's chief designer. A disgruntled L'Enfant departed with his plans, leaving the city in various stages of completion. 

Without L'Enfant's plans, construction was at a stand-still. It was feared that the project would be scrapped by Congress if builders didn't receive the maps and plans to finish the job.

   Banneker produced the nation's first almanac.
It was Banneker who stepped in to keep  prevent a work stoppage. Banneker was already working on this project as an assistant to a prominent colonial surveyor. He copied L'Enfant's field notes as a guide to help him fine-tune his map-making skills. As a result, Banneker was able reproduce the original plans almost exactly as the Frenchman had drawn them.

Found the time to work on almanac

While Washington, D.C. was still under construction, Banneker used his leisure time to work on the almanac he had started on several years earlier. Banneker was known to spend clear nights outside his cabin, lying flat on his back until dawn, so he could observe the stars and calculate their movements.

By 1791, he completed this country's first almanac. It was first published in 1792 and he updated it annually until 1797.

Next: Norbert Rillieux emerged a genuine game-changer


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