BANNEKER, BENJAMIN 1731 —1806
During the planning of Washington D.C., Benjamin Banneker served as a scientific assistant to Major Andrew Ellicott, the surveyor of the area. When Pierre L’Enfant, the original planner of the District, was dismissed from the project, he took his plans for the capital city with him. Banneker reportedly recreated the plans from memory for the government. An African-American mathematician and self-taught astronomer, Banneker calculated ephemerides (astronomical tables) for use in popular almanacs. His work in this area helped bring him fame and success. He wrote letters to Thomas Jefferson advocating for abolition, which were later published and used by abolitionist groups. He also created a wooden clock, using only a pocket watch for an example. Bannaker’s other works included a?treatiseon bees and a computation of the cycle of the seventeen-year locust. In the context of a slave-owning culture, Banneker’s achievements were extraordinary and today are celebrated as a milestone in American history.
班納克，本杰明 1731 -1806
在華盛頓特區(qū)的規(guī)劃期間，本杰明·班納克(BenjaminBanneker)曾擔(dān)任該地區(qū)檢驗(yàn)員安德魯·艾莉少校的科學(xué)助理。當(dāng)該地區(qū)的原規(guī)劃人皮埃爾·倫凡特(PierreL’enfant)被從該項(xiàng)目中解雇時(shí)，他帶著自己的首都規(guī)劃一同離去。據(jù)報(bào)道，班納克根據(jù)記憶為政府重新創(chuàng)建了這些計(jì)劃。班納克是一位非裔美國數(shù)學(xué)家和自學(xué)成才的天文學(xué)家，他計(jì)算出了用于流行年歷的“臨時(shí)表”(ephemerides，天文表)，在這方面的工作給他帶來了名聲和成功班內(nèi)克寫信給托馬斯·杰斐遜，呼吁廢除奴隸制，這些信件后來被出版并被廢奴主義者團(tuán)體使用。他還創(chuàng)造了一個(gè)木制的時(shí)鐘，僅使用懷表為例。班納克的其他作品包括一篇關(guān)于蜜蜂的論文和一篇關(guān)于17年蝗災(zāi)周期的計(jì)算。在奴隸主文化的背景下，班納克的成就是非凡的，在今天被譽(yù)為美國歷史上的一個(gè)里程碑。
