Benjamin Banneker was born in 1731. His grandmother was a slave that was able to buy a farm. His grandmother taught him to read by reading him the Bible. This would spark a newfound pursuit of knowledge for Benjamin as he would soon learn how to play violin and the flute. When a school opened nearby where Benjamin was living, he started to write and did a basic level of mathematics. At age 21 Benjamin found a new item that would change his life. This item was a pocket watch that his neighbor had. He took it apart, drew out the pieces on a sheet of paper, and reassembled it for the neighbor. He used these sketches to make the parts in big wooden fashion to make the first wooden clock in the United States. He then turned his life to clock-making. A customer he had was so impressed with his work that the customer gave Benjamin copies of math and astronomy textbooks. With these Benjamin was able to teach himself astronomy. In 1773 he turned his focus to astronomy by making calculations to predict eclipses. His research would lead him to publish an Almanac that had the positions of celestial objects as well as what to expect from tides at certain times. He then went on to have many more outstanding achievements he was even part of the crew that designed Washington D.C.
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