BENJAMIN
BANNEKER
In
1763, he borrowed a pocket watch, took it apart, and made a drawing of
each component. Then he reassembled the watch and returned it to the
owner. He created his own clock, made entirely of wood. Famous
as the first clock built in the New World, it was still working at the
time of his death.
In 1791, after a year of work, the Frenchman hired by George
Washington to design the capitol, walked off the job, taking with him all
the plans. Banneker saved the project by reproducing from memory, in
two days, a complete layout of the streets, parks, and major buildings.
From 1792 to 1797, he published Benjamin Banneker's
Almanac, for which he did all the calculations himself.
Banneker's life is inspirational. He was unwilling to
let race or age hinder in any way his thirst for intellectual development.
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