death_place death_date birth_place other_names nationality birth_date article_title name occupation
baltimore county , maryland , u.s. october 9 , 1806 november 9 , 1731 baltimore county , province of maryland , british america benjamin bannaker american november 9 , 1731 benjamin banneker
 benjamin banneker scientist , surveyor , almanac author , farmer
benjamin banneker

benjamin banneker -lrb- november 9 , 1731october 9 , 1806 -rrb- was a free african american scientist , surveyor , almanac author and farmer .
born in baltimore county , maryland , to a free african american woman and a former slave , banneker had little formal education and was largely self-taught .
he is known for being part of a group led by major andrew ellicott that surveyed the borders of the original district of columbia , the federal capital district of the united states .
banneker 's knowledge of astronomy helped him author a commercially successful series of almanacs .
he corresponded with thomas jefferson , drafter of the united states declaration of independence , on the topics of slavery and racial equality .
abolitionists and advocates of racial equality promoted and praised his works .
although a fire on the day of banneker 's funeral destroyed many of his papers and belongings , one of his journals and several of his remaining artifacts are presently available for public viewing .
parks , schools , streets and other tributes have commemorated banneker throughout the years since he lived .
however , many accounts of his life exaggerate or falsely attribute his works .
