# 1804 - 1980 15c Black Heritage: Benjamin Banneker
1980 15¢ Benjamin Banneker
Black Heritage
City: Annapolis, Maryland
Quantity: 160,000,000
Birth Of Benjamin Banneker
Banneker was the son of freed slaves and received little formal education as a child. He was mostly self-taught and what little education he had ended when he was old enough to work on the family farm.
When he was 22, Banneker built a hand-carved wooden clock that struck on the hour. The clock worked for over 50 years. In 1772, the Ellicott brothers (namesakes of Ellicott City) established a gristmill near Banneker’s family farm. Banneker took great interest in the operation of the mills, studied them, and befriended the Ellicotts. The Ellicotts also loaned Banneker books to help him further his education, particularly expanding on his joy and study of astronomy. From these studies, Banneker was able to accurately predict a solar eclipse in 1789, proving many well-known astronomers wrong.
Banneker sent Jefferson a manuscript of his almanac along with a letter. In it, he discussed the statesman’s view on slavery and how it contradicted the Declaration of Independence. In his response, Jefferson praised Banneker for his almanac, which he said he would forward to the secretary of the academy of sciences in Paris, though it appears he never did.
In the years since his death, many streets and buildings have been named in Banneker’s honor. There’s also a Benjamin Banneker Historical Park and Museum in Oella, Maryland and the Banneker-Douglass Museum in Annapolis, Maryland.
1980 15¢ Benjamin Banneker
Black Heritage
City: Annapolis, Maryland
Quantity: 160,000,000
Birth Of Benjamin Banneker
Banneker was the son of freed slaves and received little formal education as a child. He was mostly self-taught and what little education he had ended when he was old enough to work on the family farm.
When he was 22, Banneker built a hand-carved wooden clock that struck on the hour. The clock worked for over 50 years. In 1772, the Ellicott brothers (namesakes of Ellicott City) established a gristmill near Banneker’s family farm. Banneker took great interest in the operation of the mills, studied them, and befriended the Ellicotts. The Ellicotts also loaned Banneker books to help him further his education, particularly expanding on his joy and study of astronomy. From these studies, Banneker was able to accurately predict a solar eclipse in 1789, proving many well-known astronomers wrong.
Banneker sent Jefferson a manuscript of his almanac along with a letter. In it, he discussed the statesman’s view on slavery and how it contradicted the Declaration of Independence. In his response, Jefferson praised Banneker for his almanac, which he said he would forward to the secretary of the academy of sciences in Paris, though it appears he never did.
In the years since his death, many streets and buildings have been named in Banneker’s honor. There’s also a Benjamin Banneker Historical Park and Museum in Oella, Maryland and the Banneker-Douglass Museum in Annapolis, Maryland.