Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles
available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Benjamin Banneker
(November 9, 1731 - October 9, 1806) was a free African American
astronomer, mathematician, surveyor, almanac author and farmer. Although
it is difficult to verify details of Benjamin Banneker's family history,
it appears that he was a grandson of a European American named Molly
Welsh. The story goes that Molly met a slave named Banneka when she
purchased him to help establish a farm located near the future site of
Ellicott's Mills (see Ellicott City, Maryland History) west of
Baltimore, Maryland. This part of Maryland was out of the mainstream of
the colonial South, and as result had a more tolerant attitude toward
African Americans than did colonial areas in which slavery was more
prevalent. Perhaps a member of the Dogon tribe, reputed to have a
historical knowledge of astronomy (see Dogon and Sirius), Banneka may
have cleared Molly's land, solved irrigation problems, and implemented a
crop rotation for her. Soon thereafter, Molly freed and married Banneka,
who may have shared his knowledge of astronomy with her.
