He was born in Baltimore County, Maryland, in the year 1732. There
was not a drop of white man's blood in his veins. His father was born
in Africa, and his mother's parents were both natives of Africa. What
genius he had must be credited to that race. Benjamin's mother was a
remarkable woman. Her name was Morton before marriage, and her nephew,
Greenbury Morton, was gifted with a lively and impetuous eloquence
which made its mark in his neighborhood. Her husband was a slave when
she married him, but she soon purchased his freedom. Together they
bought a farm of two hundred acres, which though but ten miles from
Jones' Falls, was at that time a wilderness.
When Benjamin was approaching manhood he attended an obscure country
school, where he learned reading and writing, and a little arithmetic.
Beyond these rudiments he was entirely his own teacher.
Perhaps the first wonder among his neighbors was when, at thirty years
of age, he made a clock. It is probable that this was the first clock
of which every portion was made in America. He had seen a watch, but
never a clock; and it was as purely his own invention as if none had
ever been made before.
The clock attracted the attention of the Ellicott family, well educated
men, and Quakers. They gave him books and astronomical instruments.
From this time astronomy became the great object of Benjamin's life.
He remained unmarried, and lived in a cabin on the farm his father left
him; he still labored for a living, but his wants were few and simple.
He slept much in the day, that he might observe at night the heavenly
bodies, whose laws he was studying. The first almanac prepared by
Banneker was for the year 1792, when he was fifty-nine years old, and
he continued to prepare almanacs till 1802.
He had become known and respected by scientific men, and received
tokens of regard from many of them. The Commissioners to run the lines
of the District of Columbia invited Banneker to assist them, and
treated him in all respects as an equal.
A gentleman writes of Banneker: "When I was a boy I became very
much interested in him, as his manners were those of a perfect
gentleman--kind, generous, hospitable, humane, dignified, and
pleasing--and he abounded in information on all the various subjects
of the day." His head was covered with thick white hair, which gave
him a dignified and venerable appearance. His dress was uniformly of
superfine drab broadcloth, made with straight collar, a long waistcoat,
and broad-brimmed hat. In size and personal appearance the statue of
Franklin, in the Library of Philadelphia, as seen from the street, is a
perfect likeness of him.