Today in Technology History
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October 25
The first clock built entirely in America was made by a man named Benjamin Banneker, who died on October 25, 1806.
Banneker was born in 1731 in Maryland. His grandfather was a freed slave who married his former owner; their daughter also married a former slave and gave birth to four children, including Benjamin. As a young man he worked on his family's farm and took classes at a local school. He diligently studied every book he could get his hands on, and he had an innate mathematical ability.
There are many versions of the story of Banneker's clock, but here is its essence: Probably in the 1750s, he borrowed a pocket watch from a friend, disassembling and reassembling it several times. He then replicated the watch's components on a larger scale, building its mechanism entirely from wood and reportedly using a knife as his only tool. Though he had never seen a clock in his life, he built what is believed to be the first clock made in America of only American parts. Banneker fashioned the wooden gears and other mechanisms so precisely that the clock performed faultlessly for decades.
That invention isn't Banneker's only claim to our attention. He designed an innovative irrigation system that helped many farms stay productive even during dry spells. His chief hobby for many decades was astronomy, and he published an impressive farmer's almanac that included medical advice and highly accurate astronomical tables. He also played a vital role on the commission that planned and surveyed the city of Washington, D.C.
Banneker died at the age of 75.
Related links:
The U.S. Library of Congress has historical documents related to Banneker.
Click here and here to see pictures of Banneker's gravesite.
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