Benjamin Banneker (1731 – 1806) – Striking wall clock and almanacs
As a self-taught mathematician, Benjamin Banneker demonstrated a natural talent for inventing from a young age. In his early twenties, he became fascinated with a pocket watch and borrowed it to study its mechanism. A year later, he created an early version of a chiming wall clock that struck a gong on the hour instead of playing the Westminster chime melody. Banneker’s clock kept time for over 40 years. Born free in 1731, Banneker never experienced slavery. At 61, he completed the first edition of Banneker’s Almanac and gave it to Thomas Jefferson and then the United States Secretary of State. In the 18th century, almanacs were essential household items.
They provided information about the timing of sunrise, sunset, lunar and solar eclipses, moon phases, and holidays. Farmers in Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia relied on Banneker’s Almanac as a guide. When Banneker asked Jefferson to advocate for equal rights for African Americans and fight against racial prejudice, the Secretary of State acknowledged that Black people had talents equal to those of other races. Banneker passed away in 1806, 59 years before slavery was abolished.