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Who invented the first wooden clock?
Benjamin Banneker
All rights reserved. Today is the 286th birthday of one of early America’s most fascinating figures. Benjamin Banneker, born on this day in 1731, is remembered for producing one of America’s earliest almanacs and what may have been the country’s first natively produced clock.
What feat of engineering did Benjamin Banneker accomplish and when?
In 1753, Banneker created his most famous invention – a wooden clock made entirely of indigenous American parts. One day a wealthy neighbor loaned him a pocket watch for the night.
What was the purpose of Banneker’s letter?
In Benjamin Banneker’s letter to Thomas Jefferson he argues that he wants slavery to be discontinued. Banneker expresses this by using the rhetorical strategies; repetition, irony, and pathos. His purpose is to connect with Thomas Jefferson in order for him to take part in abolishing slavery.
What are some major accomplishments of Benjamin Banneker?
His stand against racial discrimination is well documented but some of the other Benjamin Banneker major accomplishments are disputed. There are many who accept the accomplishments at their face value but there are others who cite the lack of evidence to infer that some accomplishments are hearsay.
Is the story of Benjamin Banneker a historical anomaly?
Despite his many accomplishments, however, Banneker was forced to navigate the same racial prejudices that African Americans often faced in both slave and free states. In many ways, his story is an historical anomaly.
Where did Benjamin Banneker live as a slave?
Benjamin Banneker, a free African-American man living in a slave state in the eighteenth century, never knew the weight of iron shackles or the crack of an overseer’s whip. A native of Baltimore County, Maryland, his experience diverged from those of most African Americans living in the early United States.
Why did Benjamin Banneker publish the Jefferson letter?
Banneker published Jefferson’s letter alongside his original piece of correspondence in his 1793 almanac. Banneker’s outspokenness with regard to the issue of slavery earned him the widespread support of the abolitionist societies in Maryland and Pennsylvania, both of which helped him publish his almanac.