It is crazy how still after the 1730’s blacks were considered to be very dull minded people even when one looked at the time. There is man that was born in the 1730’s that in some way changed the minds of the white folks. Benjamin Banneker, one of the first African Americans to gain notoriety for his work and study. He was born on November 9, 1731, a child whose father was a freed slave and and so was his mother. From his childhood he learned loved math, science, and anything that involved mechanics. From this he grew to become one of the greatest African American scientist, mathematician, and inventor. Benjamin Banneker’s life, career, and legacy are a proof to the great mental improvement one can achieve. Banneker was a man who luckily didn’t have to struggle with the abhorrent hands of slavery since both of his parents were free. His parents owned a farm which he grew up in with a stable home accompanied by both his parents and sisters which was where he became able to become a …show more content…
At the age of 15 he took over the farm and invented the irrigation system to control the water flow to the crops from nearby springs, and as a result, even during droughts their farm always flourished. Though the irrigation system seems pretty astonishing, it was his clock invention that really propelled his reputation. According to, Famous Black Inventors, it mentions, “Sometime in the early 1750s, Benjamin borrowed a pocket watch from a wealthy acquaintance, took the watch apart and studied its components. After returning the watch, he created a fully functioning clock entirely out of carved wooden pieces.” (Invented America's First Clock 3). The clock was remarkably precise, and ticked for many decades. Banneker’s clock became the first made in America clock. With the attention his self-made clock received, Banneker was able to start up his own watch and clock repair